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PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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Presented    by    V^X^Sy ^\CK e^X^\    \  (7\Wor^^ 


BX  9225  .H32  A76  1870 
Arnot,  William,  1808-1875. 
Life  of  James  Hamilton,  D. 
,  F.L.S 


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^/J^ 


LIFE 


OP 


JAMES    HAMILTON 


D.D.  F.L.S. 


BY   WILLIAM   AENOT 

EDINBURGn 


SECOND  EDITION 


FEW   YOEK 
ROBEET   CAETEE   AND   BEOTHEES 

530    BROADWAY 

1870. 


EDINBURGH  :  T.  CONSTABLE, 
PRINTER  TO  THE  QUEES,  AND  TO  THE  USIVERSITT. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PARENTAGE — CHILDHOOD — YOUTH  TILL  HIS  EATHEK's  DEATH. 

PAGE 

Notices  of  the  family — Sketch  of  his  father — Circumstances  of 
his  birth — Infancy — Strathblane — Literary  habits  in  child- 
hood— Educational  influences — First  journal — First  session 
at  College — Spiritual  life — Literary  adventure — Anticipates 
an  early  removal — Death  of  his  sister  Elizabeth — College 
examination — Exercises  in  vacation — Self -searching — Natural 
philosophy — Professors  and  students — Chemistry — Father's 
death,     ........  .         .  1-73 


CHAPTER  II. 

FROM  HIS  father's  DEATH  TO  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  HIS  MINISTRY. 

Leaving  the  Manse — Day-book — Observations  in  natural  his- 
tory— Memoir  of  his  father — -Removal  to  Edinburgh- — Dr. 
Thomas  Thomson — Sir  William  Hooker — The  botany  of  Pales- 
tine— Literary  engagements — Journey  to  Loudon — Oxford 
— Resignation  of  appointment  to  Morningside — Death  of  his 
sister  Mary — Mission  in  St.  George's  Parish,  Edinburgh,         74-127 

CHAPTER  HL 

MINISTRY  AT  ABERNYTE. 

The  minister  of  the  parish — His  work  as  assistant — Invited  to 
Greenock — Natural  history  in  the  pulpit — WiUiam  Burns — 
Visit  to  Strathblane — Strathbogie — Conflict  between  Church 
and  State — Called  to  Edinburgh, 128- 1G6 


VI  C0:N  TENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

MINISTRY  IN  EDINBURGH  AND  REMOVAL  TO  LONDON. 

PAGE 

Ordination  as  miuister  of  Roxburgh  Chiircli — Fruits  of  his 
short  ministry  there — The  National  Scotch  Church,  Regent 
Square — Edward  Irving — Mr.  Hamilton  called  to  London,    167-188 

CHAPTER  V. 

FROM  HIS  SETTLEMENT  IN  LONDON  IN   1841  TO  THE  DISRUPTION 
OF  THE  SCOTTISH  CHURCH  IN  1843. 

Halley  and  Hamilton — Series  of  tracts — Church  in  the  House, 
etc. — The  Presbyterian  Church  in  England — Troubles  in 
Scotland — The  Convocation — The  Harp  on  the  Willows — The 
liberty  demanded  by  the  Church,  and  refused  by  the  State — 
The  death  of  M'Cheyne — A  quickened  ministry — The  Dis- 
ruption—  Relation  of  the  Churches  in  England  to  Scotch 
Establishment — Presbytery  of  London — Law  and  Equity,      189-233 

CHAPTER  VI. 

1843-1846. 

Dr.  Guthrie — Robert  M'Cheyne — Review  of  intrusted  talents — 
Christian  union — Difficulty  of  obtaining  ministers — Origin 
of  Life  in  Earnest — Natural  history — Call  to  Rev.  A.  Bonar 
— Residence  at  Ems — Travelling  in  Germany — Sojourn  in 
Wales — Plans  for  preaching — The  Calvinists  and  the  Estab- 
lishment in  Wales — Series  of  letters  to  Miss  Moore — His 
marriage,  .........    234-300 

CHAPTER  VIL 

1846-1849. 

Course  on  the  Evidences— Presbyterian  OoWege— Emblems  from 
Ede)i— Sermons  to  various  classes — Days  numbered  and  noted 
— The  dangerous  classes— //a;);?y  Home — How  tracts  should 
be  written — The  Presbyterian  Messenger — Death  of  his  sister, 
Mrs.  Walker, 301-348 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
1849-1851. 

PAGE 

Artists — Strathblane  notables — Memoir  of  Lady  Colquhoun — 
Vacation  occupations — The  brothers  Laurence— Pastoral  ad- 
dress on  epidemic — Presbyterian  Church  in  England — Death 
of  his  sister's  child,  and  of  his  brother's  wife — Quoad  sacra 
Churches — The  1st  of  May  at  Glasgow — Speech  in  the 
General  Assembly — His  library — Birth  of  his  son — ^Romanism, 
its  Boot  of  Bitterness,        .......     349-396 

CHAPTER  IX. 

1851-1854. 

Bibline  or  book-essence — Literary  hoards — Doddridge  and 
Watts — Sir  John  Pirie — Lady  Verney — Sir  George  Sinclair 
— The  Boyal  Preacher — Mr.  William  Hamilton — Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Barbour — The  Light  to  the  Path — Excelsior — Memoir  of 
Bichurd  Williams — Governor  Briggs  and  Mr.  Amos  Lau- 
rence,     .....  ....     397-438 

CHAPTER  X. 

1855-1857. 
Time  wasted — Members  of  Evangelical  Alliance — His  mother's 
death — Thankfulness — Railway  collision — Dr.  James  W. 
Alexander — The  Great  Biography — The  China  Mission — 
David  Sandeman — Fruits  from  Life  in  Earnest  —  Our  Chris- 
tian Classics — Literature  for  Sweden — Rotatory  reading- 
rooms,     439-476 

CHAPTER  XL 

1858-1863. 

Botany  of  Scripture — Efforts  to  overcome  defects — Dr.  Hamil- 
ton as  a  preacher — Death  of  Mr.  Sandeman — Erasmus — 
Purchase  and  repair  of  Regent  Square  Church — Nelson's 
battle-cry — A  Whip  for  the  Indolent — Congregational  Report 
— James  Burns  and  James  Hamilton — The  Church  Exten- 
sion Scheme, 477-514 


vm  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XII. 
1860-1865. 

PAGE 

Death  of  his  cousin — Greek  Philosophy — Literary  aspirations 
— Day-book — Invitation  to  Edinburgh  declined — Dialogue 
with  a  piano  tuner — Retrospect  of  vacations — Labour  on 
the  Life  of  Erasmus — The  project  abandoned — Dr.  Living- 
stone— Dangerous  accident  to  his  son,        ....    515-554 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

LATEST  YEAKS. 

The  College  at  Glasgow — Review  of  its  recent  history — Eminent 
students — Professors — Influence  of  the  College  on  the  city 
— Hunterian  Museum — "West  Church  Burying-ground — 
The  Prodigal  Son — The  Book  of  Psalms  and  Hymns — The 
Psalter  and  Hijmn  Booh,  Three  Lectures — Controversy  on 
the  subject  of  Hymns — Latest  public  labours — Illness — 
Residence  at  Eltham — At  Godalming — ISIarriage  of  his 
daughter — Letter  to  the  Congregation — Residence  at  Mar- 
gate— The  setting  sun — Narrative  of  closing  scenes — His 
death — His  funeral — Tlie  members  of  his  family — A  fragrant 
memory,  ..........    555-600 


CHAPTER  I. 

PARENTAGE— CHILDHOOD— YOUTH,  TILL  HIS  FATHER'S  DEATH. 

"  A  TRAP  to  catch  a  sunbeam," — tlie  playful  title  of  a 
fiction,  strangely  presents  itself  here  as  the  fittest  phrase 
to  express  the  aim,  sober,  grave,  and  tender,  of  this  real 
and  recent  history.  Great  and  good  lives, — lives  that  are 
at  once  manly  and  godly,  where  the  affections  that  spring 
from  the  earth  are  imbued  with  the  holiness  that  distils 
from  heaven, — are  like  rays  of  sunlight  which  gladden  the 
world  while  they  shine,  but  leave  it  dark  and  chilly  when 
they  depart.  0  for  an  art  in  the  moral  sphere,  equiva- 
lent to  that  of  the  photographer  in  the  material,  whereby 
we  might  seize,  and  fix,  and  perpetuate  those  rarer  rays 
which  stream  through  the  mass  of  human  history  like 
veins  of  felspar  in  a  quarry  ! 

This  is  the  specific  task  assigned  to  the  biographer. 
Feeble  and  faint  at  best  must  be  the  image  of  a  life  trans- 
ferred to  a  printed  page,  in  comparison  with  that  life  itself, 
as  it  was  felt  by  friends  while  it  lasted,  and  is  remembered 
still ;  but,  if  the  original  were  indeed  a  sunbeam  sent  from 
heaven  to  cheer  a  portion  of  this  dull  earth,  a  copy,  to 
some  extent  true  and  suggestive,  may  be  taken  and  kept. 
The  negative  Avliich  a  biography  may  fix  for  the  use  of 

A 


2  NOTICES  OF  THE  FAMILY. 

posterity  will  fail  indeed  to  reproduce  tlie  vital  colours  ; 
but  if  it  be  at  once  fond  and  faithful  it  will  secure  a  true 
outline,  and  help  surviving  friends  to  recall  the  vanished 
life. 

The  family  from  which  James  Hamilton  sprang  can  be 
traced  for  several  generations,  some  as  proprietors  and 
some  as  cultivators  of  the  soil,  in  the  middle  ward  of 
Lanarkshire.  About  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  John 
Hamilton,  laird  of  Burnside  and  East  Quarter,  had  reached 
an  advanced  age,  and  was  unmarried.  In  these  circum- 
stances it  was  natural  that  James,  the  son  of  his  deceased 
brother,  should,  in  his  youth,  permit  himself  to  be  buoyed  up 
with  the  hope  of  becoming  in  due  time  a  country  gentle- 
man, and  so  being  able  to  live  on  his  rents  without  care  or 
labour  of  his  own.  The  marriage  of  the  old  gentleman, 
however,  and  the  appearance  of  an  heiress  on  the  stage, 
effectually  extinguished  the  young  man's  fondly  cherished 
hopes.  But  that  which  came  in  the  form  of  a  calamity 
turned  out  a  blessing  in  disguise  :  it  supplied  the  stimulus 
which  was  needed  to  mould  and  invigorate  his  character. 
The  event  that  spoilt  his  prospect  of  an  inheritance  tore 
him  away,  before  it  was  too  late,  from  a  career  of  idle 
sport,  already  begun,  and  projected  his  life  upon  a  course 
of  honourable  industry.  In  1761,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three,  he  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Andrew  Hamilton  of 
Avondale,  who  had  suffered  much  in  person  and  property 
from  incursions  of  the  rebels  in  1745.  Thomas,  their 
youngest  son,  originator  and  head  of  the  eminent  publisli- 
ing  house  of  Hamilton,  Adams,  and  Co.,  London,  still  sur- 


NOTICES  OF  THE  FAMILY.  S' 

vives  at  a  patriarclial  age,  in  full  possession  of  all  his 
faculties,  a  pattern  at  once  of  the  successful  merchant,  the 
accomplished  gentleman,  and  the  humble  yet  hopeful  dis- 
ciple of  Christ. 

William,  an  elder  son,  Dr.  James  Hamilton's  father, 
was  born  on  the  4th  of  February  1780,  at  Longridge  in  the 
parish  of  Stonehouse.  The  course  of  his  early  education 
is  summed  up  in  two  short  sentences  of  his  autobiography, 
"  The  Bible  was  my  class  book.  My  mother  was  my 
tutor."  Somewhat  imperfectly  equipped,  accordiug  to  his 
own  account,  for  want  of  a  competent  classical  instructor 
within  reach,  he  entered  the  University  of  Edinburgh  in 
November  1796.  Prosecuting  each  successive  branch  of 
his  studies  with  extraordinary  zeal,  he  completed  wdth 
great  credit  his  course  of  philosophy  and  theology,  and 
was  licensed  as  a  probationer  of  the  Scottish  Church  by 
the  Presbytery  of  Hamilton  in  December  1804.  After 
having  served  about  three  years  as  assistant  successively 
in  the  parishes  of  Broughton  and  ISTew  Kilpatrick,  he  was 
ordained  minister  of  St.  Andrew's  Chapel,  Dundee,  in 
December  1807.  There,  with  a  wide  sphere  and  abundant 
opportunities,  he  threw  himself  with  his  whole  heart  into 
the  work  of  the  ministry ;  but  as  the  chapel  was  unen- 
dowed, and  did  not  confer  on  its  minister  the  privilege  of  a 
seat  in  any  ecclesiastical  court,  he  judged  it  his  duty,  within 
a  period  of  two  years,  to  accept  a  proffered  presentation 
to  the  parish  of  Strathblane  in  the  county  of  Stirling.  In 
this  place  he  continued  serving  God  in  the  gospel  with 
signal  devotion  and  with  much  practical  success  till  his 
death  in  1835.     As  notices  of  his  character  and  work  from 


4  SKETCH  OF  HIS  FATHER. 

almost  the  beginning  of  bis  ministry  in  Stratbblane  will 
naturally  emerge  as  we  proceed,  and  entwine  themselves 
round  our  own  proper  narrative,  it  is  not  necessary  at  this 
stage  to  prolong  the  sketch  of  his  course.  In  the  mean- 
time, however,  and  by  anticipation,  it  may  be  well  to  in- 
troduce the  estimate  of  that  gifted  father,  which  was 
formed  and  expressed  in  mature  life  by  his  still  more 
gifted  son  : — 

"  In  that  manse  the  animating  presence  was  a  '  house- 
mother,' who  fiUed  every  corner  with  her  kindly,  cheerful 
influence  ;  but  somewhat  awfully  enshrined  in  his  studious 
sanctuary,  sate  with  brief  interval  his  uncle,^  the  Eev. 
William  Hamilton,  D.D.  August  in  an  altitude  of  six 
feet  two,  with  raven  locks  brushed  down  on  his  high  brow, 
with  the  darkest  of  eyes  flashing  terrible  disdain  on  all 
shabbiness,  as  well  as  indignation  at  all  sin,  he  was  an 
object  of  uneasy  respect  to  'moderate'  and  temporizing 
CO -presbyters,  and  to  some  of  the  more  jovial  spirits 
amongst  his  own  parishioners  was  so  formidable,  that 
rather  than  encounter  him  they  would  escape  from  his 
approach  by  a  retreat  more  rapid  than  dignified.  At  the 
same  time,  his  affections  were  so  warm,  his  heart  so  tender, 
his  standard  of  Christian  attainment  so  lofty,  his  spiritua- 
lity of  mind  was  in  such  grand  harmony  with  his  intel- 
lectual majesty,  his  whole  nature  was  so  noble,  that  it  was 
with  an  admiring,  uplooking  affection  that  he  was  beloved 
by  those  who  sufficiently  knew  him.      His  greatest  failing 

1  This  sketch  occurs  in  a  memoir  of  his  cousin,  the  Rev.  James  Hamilton, 
only  son  of  the  publisher,  a  most  devoted  and  exemplary  minister  of  the  Church 
of  England,  Rector  of  Beddington,  Surrey. 


SKETCH  OF  HIS  FATHER.  5 

was  a  morbid  sense  of  time's  precioiisness.  Every  moment 
was  grudged  which  he  did  not  give  to  his  parish  or  his 
library.  Even  during  the  hasty  repast  his  mind  would  be 
absorbed  in  the  Magdeburg  Centurlators  or  Owen  on  Per- 
severance; and  what  with  forced  journeys,  and  rising 
excessively  early,  and  the  absence  of  all  recreation,  he 
may  be  said  to  have  shortened  his  days  in  redeeming  the 
time.  For,  in  regard  to  this  as  well  as  the  other  talentr, 
the  maxim  holds  true—'  There  is  that  scattereth,  and  yet 
increaseth/ 

"  Although  most  generous  in  distributing  his  books,  his 
money,  and  his  influence,  it  must  be  confessed  that  his 
reluctance  to  part  with  a  minute  was  miserly.  Even  the 
snatches  surrendered  to  his  family  and  friends  were  given 
with  a  grudge ;  and  forgetful  of  the  good  which  through 
Ms  vast  acquirements  and  conversational  powers  he  could 
confer  on  others,  it  seemed  never  to  strike  him  that  in  this 
form  of  beneficence  he  might  after  all  be  lendiug  to  the 
Lord,  and  fulfilling  an  important  ministry. 

"  Still  it  was  an  impressive  sight  to  witness  that  life  so 
intense  and  devoted :  the  day  begun  with  a  long  perusal 
of  Kennicott's  Hebrew  Bible,  and  the  evening  closing  in 
with  the  contracted  Greek  of  Eusebius,  or  the  stately 
pages  of  Justin  Martyr,  under  the  brightest  blaze  of  the 
argand  lamp,  and  all  the  space  between  filled  up  with 
vigorous  study  and  visits  of  mercy.  Even  now,  and 
recalling  it  over  an  interval  of  thirty  years,  it  is  affecting 
to  remember  the  work  which  that  faithful  pastor  did  for 
his  little  flock  of  a  thousand  people ;  the  sermons  which 
he  prepared  for  a  congregation  of  ploughmen  and  calico- 


6  CHAKACTER  OF  HIS 

printers,  as  carefully  as  if  they  had  been  the  most  learned" 
in  the  land  ;  the  classes,  the  libraries,  the  savings'  banks, 
which  he  established  ;  the  innumerable  lectures  on  popu- 
lar science  with  which  he  enlivened  their  winter  evenings, 
and  the  good  books  with  which  he  furnished  their  homes. 
And  as  his  image  arises  again  in  that  rustic  pulpit,  with 
its  green  baize  drapery  and  the  westering  sun  shining  in 
through  the  plane-trees  surrounding  the  little  sanctuary, 
whilst  with  eyes  suffused,  and  a  countenance  radiant  with 
unutterable  rapture,  he  expatiated  on  the  love  of  God  and 
the  glories  of  the  great  redemption,  we  do  not  wonder 
that  it  was  often  felt  to  be  heaven  on  earth ;  nor  do  we 
wonder  that  from  the  neighbouring  city  many  came  out 
into  the  wilderness  to  see." 

On  the  19th  of  January  1813,  soon  after  his  settlement 
in  Strathblane,  William  Hamilton  married  Jane,  daughter 
of  William  King  of  Lonend,  Paisley,^  a  man  who  com- 
bined in  a  high  degree  diligence  in  his  secular  busi- 
ness with  fervency  of  spirit  in  the  service  of  the  Lord. 
He  was  a  citizen  of  Paisley  at  a  time  when  that  place 
was  remarkable  for  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath, 
and  the  almost  universal  practice  of  family  prayer. 
Manufactures,  in  the  earlier  stage  of  their  growth,  did  not 
demoralize  and  degrade  the  population,  perhaps  because 
then  the  increase  of  the  inhabitants  had  not  yet  outgrown 
tlie  means  of  general  education  and  relifjious  instruction. 


1  Dr.  Tlolicrt  Buras,  of  Paisley,  presided  at  the  marriage  ceremony,  and 
survives  in  bodily  health  and  mental  vigour  to  this  i)resent  day.  (Such  was 
the  fact  when  this  sheet  was  sent  to  the  printer  ;  but  ere  it  returned  the  race 
of  the  venerable  patriarch  was  run.     He  died  at  Toronto  in  August  18(39.) 


MATEENAL  GEANDFATHER.  7 

"  Paisley,"  Eowland  Hill  has  said,  "  is  the  paradise  of 
Scotland,  for  there  Christians  love  one  another." 

Mr.  King  was  a  cotton- spinner,  and  he  must  have  been 
a  man  of  enterprise,  for  his  factory,  according  to  the 
statistical  account,  "was  the  first  that  was  erected  in  Scot- 
land." He  seems  moreover  to  have  ruled  his  own  house  with 
as  much  exactitude  and  rigour  as  his  mill.  His  daughter, 
Mrs.  Hamilton,  was  wont  to  tell  her  children  how  two 
boys,  her  brothers,  lost  their  caps,  as  boys  are  apt  to  do, 
in  a  gust  of  wind  on  Saturday  night  after  all  the  shops 
were  shut,  and  how  on  the  Sabbath  morning,  which,  how- 
ever, fortunately  turned  out  fine,  they  were  led  through 
the  streets  to  church  by  their  father,  one  firmly  grasped 
in  either  hand,  with  bare  heads,  in  spite  of  all  their 
remonstrances.  This  God-fearing  Scottish  cotton- spinner 
did  not  see  why  an  idle  Sabbath  should  be  spent  at  home 
because  the  boys  were  somewhat  ashamed  to  march  to 
the  church  bareheaded.  This  is  the  sort  of  stuff  of  which 
the  men  who  made  Paisley  in  those  days  were  themselves 
made. 

But  this  man,  so  resolute  where  duty  was  concerned, 
was  tender  and  liberal  when  any  case  of  need  appeared. 
When  his  course  was  run,  and  they  had  carried  his  dust 
to  the  grave,  a  crowd  of  dependants  and  pensioners  were 
admitted  to  the  house,  in  order  to  receive  some  mark  of 
kindness  in  memory  of  the  dead.  Among  them  one  poor 
widow  was  observed  with  streaming  eyes  gazing  on  his 
portrait  that  hung  on  the  wall.  "  That,"  she  said,  "  that 
is  the  very  way  he  looked  when  he  gave  me  the  twenty- 
pound  note   to  buy  my  laddie  back   frae  the   soldiers." 


8  CIKCUMSTANCES  CONNECTED 

This,  to  tlie  bystanders,  was  the  first  intimation  of  the 
fact, 

James  Hamilton's  mother,  from  whom  he  learned  so 
much,  and  whom  he  loved  so  well,  was  the  daughter  of 
this  Scottish  patriarch.  On  both  sides  he  enjoyed  the 
unspeakable  privilege  of  being  the  seed  of  the  righteous. 
He  was  born  at  Lonend,  Paisley,  on  the  27  th  November 
1814.  It  was  through  the  accident  of  his  mother's  tem- 
porary residence  in  her  father's  house  that  Paisley  became 
his  birthplace,  and  in  March  1815,  when  little  more  than 
three  months  old,  he  was  removed  to  Strathblane,  which 
was  to  all  practical  intents  the  place  of  his  nativity, 
and  continued  to  be  his  home  till  the  death  of  his  father 
in  1835. 

The  other  children  of  the  family  were — 

William  King,  born  26th  April  1816,  minister  of  the  Free  Church 
at  Stonehouse. 

Elizabeth,  bom  24th  May  1818  ;  died  13th  September  1831. 

Mary,  born  12th  April  1820;  died  at  Edinburgh  5th  November  1838. 

Jane,  born  19th  April  1822,  married  Mr.  James  Walker,  minister  of 
the  Free  Church,  Carnwath,   1st  January  1847  ;  died  15th  April  1849. 

Andrew,  born  14th  December  1826  ;  skilled  in  European  languages 
and  general  literature  ;  author  of  an  interesting  and  valuable  work  on 
Denmark.^ 

The  circumstances  attending  his  birth  fixed  the  atten- 
tion of  his  parents  with  a  peculiar  intensity  on  their  eldest 
child,  and  led  them  to  dedicate  him  to  God  with  singular 
urgency  at  the  time,  and  with  undeviating  constancy  after- 

^  Sixteen  Months  in  the  Danish  Isles.  By  Andrew  Hamilton,  Mem- 
ber of  the  Royal  Society  of  Antiqiiaries  of  the  North  at  Copenhagen. 
2  vols.     London  :  Ilichard  Beutley.     1852. 


WITH  HIS  BIRTH.  9 

wards.  The  record,  written  at  the  time  and  on  the  spot 
by  his  father,  although  it  touches  private  suffering  in 
plainer  terms  than  we  should  have  chosen  to  employ, 
seems  a  thing  so  sacred  that  we  dare  not  mutilate  it. 
Only  "  the  day  shall  declare "  how  much  the  effectual 
fervent  prayer  of  this  righteous  man  availed  to  bring  down 
upon  the  babe  in  all  his  subsequent  life  a  double  portion 
of  the  Spirit.  If  the  agonizing  cry  of  the  trembling 
parent  seem  to  draw  aside  the  curtain,  and  admit  a  stranger 
further  within  the  family  precincts  than  a  biography  ordi- 
narily ventures  to  do,  let  the  reader  tread  softly  the  ground 
which  sorrow  makes  sacred,  and  reverence  the  grief  that 
brings  the  sufferer  so  near  to  God.  "We  transcribe  from 
the  journal  of  Dr.  William  Hamilton  : — 

"  LoNEND,  2Qth  Noveviber  1814. — This  to  me  has  been  a 
day  of  darkness,  perplexity,  and  distress.  Early  on  Friday 
morning  my  dear  wife  was  taken  ill.  Her  labour  became 
severe  on  Friday  afternoon  at  four.  There  has  been  no 
remission  during  all  the  evening,  during  all  the  night,  and 
no  appearance  of  abatement  even  this  forenoon.  Her 
spirits  are  sinking,  her  strength  failing,  and  her  cries 
pierce  my  heart  and  harrow  up  my  soul.  Lord,  shall  the 
children  be  brought  to  the  birth,  and  shall  there  not  be 
strength  to  bring  forth  ?  Shall  the  desire  of  mine  eyes  be 
taken  away,  when  on  the  point  of  becoming  a  mother  ? 
Lord,  what  can  be  the  meaning  of  this  dark  dispensation  ? 
If  she  be  now  removed,  what  end  has  been  served  by  her 
union  and  mine  ?  Oh  send  forth  thy  light  and  truth  : 
lead  her  through  the  dark  valley,  and  conduct  her  forth 
in  safety  and  comfort.      Here  I  give  her  and  myself  and 


1 0  HIS  father's  journal. 

the  infant  up  to  Thee.  Do  with  us  what  seemeth  good  in 
Thy  sight.  Only  make  us  Thine  own  :  Thine  in  time, 
and  Thine  through  eternity ;  that  if  we  be  soon  separated 
in  this  vale  of  tears,  we  may  meet  in  the  regions  of  bliss, 
and  spend  our  eternity  in  Thy  presence  and  in  Thy 
praise. 

"21tK  Fovcmhcr.  Lord's  day. — 'Weeping  may  endure 
for  a  night,  but  joy  cometh  in  the  morning.'  This  morn- 
ing, at  three  minutes  before  four,  my  wife  was  safely  de- 
livered of  a  son.  0  my  soul,  never  forget  all  the  fear  and 
pain  which  thou  hast  felt  on  her  account;  and  all  the 
vows  and  resolutions  which  thou  hast  made  before  the 
Lord  to  devote  the  remainder  of  my  life  to  His  service  and 
glory ;  to  promote  the  temporal  comfort  and  spiritual  im- 
provement of  my  wife ;  to  guard  against  levity  and  folly  ; 
to  suppress  peevishness  and  irritability;  to  cultivate  a 
meek  and  quiet  spirit.  0  Lord,  I  am  Thine  ;  Thy  vows 
are  upon  me.  Seal  my  soul  till  the  day  of  complete  re- 
demption." 

While  in  substance  this  monologue  is  sublime,  it  be- 
comes in  form  dramatic.  What  a  burst  of  joy  flows  forth 
when  the  light  breaks  at  length  !  Nor  was  this  goodness 
like  the  morning  cloud.  These  vows  were  paid.  This 
suppliant  cleaved  as  close  to  God  his  Saviour  in  subse- 
quent prosperity,  as  in  that  day  of  darkness. 

In  an  enumeration  of  signal  providences  in  his  behalf, 
at  various  periods  of  his  life,  Dr.  Hamilton,  the  father,  has 
given  an  account  of  a  dangerous  illness  through  which  his 
eldest  child  passed  in  infancy  : — 

"On  the  Lord's  day,  August  6,  1815,  my  eldest  child. 


ILLNESS  IN  INFANCY.  11 

who  was  little  more  than  eight  months,  and  who  had  been 
seriously  ill  for  many  days,  seemed  in  the  morning  to  be 
growing  worse.  As  the  case  was  not  desperate,  I  went  to 
the  church,  and  went  through  the  forenoon  service,  in  the 
hope  that  his  complaint  would  take  a  favourable  turn  by 
the  time  that  it  was  over.  On  my  return  I  found  him 
worse.  I  had  left  the  people  in  the  expectation  of  sermon 
in  the  afternoon,  and  therefore  was  again  obliged,  though 
with  a  painful  heart,  to  ascend  the  pulpit.  On  the  close 
of  the  last  service  he  appeared  to  be  rapidly  sinking ;  and 
on  asking  the  surgeon  his  opinion  of  the  case,  he  declared 
that  the  child  could  not  long  survive  sunset.  This  con- 
firmed all  my  fears ;  but  since  my  dear  child's  decease 
was  so  near,  I  rejoiced  that  I  had  received  warning  of  its 
approach ;  requested  the  surgeon  to  withdraw,  and  fell  on 
my  knees,  with  my  wife  by  my  side,  by  the  bed  of  our 
infant.  I  cried  to  God  that  we  would  not  contend  with 
Him — that  our  child  and  ourselves  were  wholly  His — 
that  we  gave  our  infant  as  a  free-will  offering — that  we 
were  thankful  that  He  had  given  us  warning  of  His  plea- 
sure, and  were  glad,  since  such  was  His  holy  will,  to  have 
the  privilege  of  surrendering  voluntarily  such  a  child  into 
His  hands.  Again  and  again  I  cried,  '  Father,  glorify  Thy 
name.'  My  ambition  was  that  His  name  should  be  glori- 
fied. And,  like  a  God  of  infinite  grace,  he  speedily  glori- 
fied His  blessed  name  far  beyond  all  that  we  could  expect. 
He  guided  the  skill  of  the  surgeon  in  another  way  by 
bleeding,  to  preserve  our  infant ;  and  within  forty- five 
minutes  after  He  had  enabled  my  wife  and  myself  to  sur- 
render our  infant  into  His  hands,  we  saw  decided  symptoms 


12  ILLNESS  IN  INFANCY. 

of  tlie  abatement  of  inflammatory  attack.  Oh,  who  is  a 
God  like  unto  our  God !  and  what  must  eternity  be  like 
in  the  presence  of  Him  who  spared  not  His  own  Son,  but 
delivered  liini  up  for  us  aU;  and  on  earth  hears  our 
prayers,  and  treats  us  with  such  ineffable  gentleness  and 
tenderness  !  During  the  season  of  agitating  suspense,  I 
enjoyed  uncommonly  elevated  views  of  the  majesty,  love, 
and  aU-sufficiency  of  the  Lord ;  and  saw  most  powerfully 
that  though  my  child  were  removed.  His  power,  and  grace, 
and  glory  would  remain  unchanged,  and  that  in  tlie  riches 
of  His  grace,  and  aU-sufficiency  of  His  nature,  there  was 
still  an  infinite  fulness  from  which  to  supply  all  my  need, 
and  replenish  and  delight  my  soul  with  every  consolation 
and  joy."  ^ 

From  the  time  of  Moses  downwards,  it  has  been  observed 
that,  as  a  general  rule,  those  who  are  destined  to  be  leaders 
of  Israel  in  their  maturity  have  been  in  their  childhood 
drawn  out  of  the  water.  The  hearer  of  prayer  knows  that 
it  is  "  out  of  the  depths  "  that  the  most  urgent  cries  ascend 
to  the  throne ;  and  he  seems,  in  paternal  wisdom  and  love, 
to  permit  the  danger  to  become  imminent  in  order  to  in- 
crease the  fervency  of  the  prayer.  In  whatever  way  the 
fact  may  be  explained,  the  fact  itself  cannot  be  disputed, 
that,  for  tlie  most  part,  those  who  have  occupied  a  high 
place,  and  accomplished  a  great  work  in  the  Church,  have 
been  brought  to  the  "large  place  "  of  their  mature  activity 
"  through  fire  and  water  "  in  some  form  during  the  earlier 
period  of  their  lives. 

Among  Dr.  Hamilton's  miscellaneous  papers,  I  have 
'  Memoir  of  Br.  WiUiam  Hamilton,  p.  9S. 


SKETCH  OF  STEATHBLANE.  13 

found  a  clmracteristic  sketch  of  Strathblane,  tlie  home  of 
his  childhood,  which,  though  without  date  and  unfinished, 
I  insert  here  as  the  shortest  and  best  method  of  conveying 
to  the  reader  some  conception  of  the  place  and  its 
people  : — 

"  Sheltered  from  the  north  by  an  outlier  of  the  Ochils, 
and  shut  in  at  either  end  by  its  own  Dunglass  and  Dun- 
goiach,  with  the  perpetual  Sabbath  of  the  hills  smiling 
down  on  its  industrious  valley,  and  with  its  bright  little 
river  trotting  cheerily  on  towards  Loch  Lomond,  few 
parishes  in  Scotland  could  be  more  secluded  or  lovely 
than  Strathblane.  With  its  southern  aspect,  it  made  the 
most  of  the  sunshine,  and,  if  we  could  trust  our  childish 
recollections,  we  should  say  that  nowhere  else  within  these 
seas  were  the  breezes  so  soft ;  that  nowhere  else  did 
summer  linger  so  long.  But  the  memory  of  childhood  is 
eclectic,  and  we  begin  life  as  we  end  it,  wearing  spectacles, 
of  topaz,  or  some  substance  akin  to  the  transparent  gold 
of  St.  John.  Mine  were  amber- coloured.  In  the  dim 
winter  days  I  used  to  look  with  envy  at  certain  spots  far 
ap  the  mountain,  for  I  fancied  that  they  were  suffused 
with  constant  sunshine.  It  was  a  great  mortification  to 
find  at  last  that  they  were  only  patches  of  withered  grass  ; 
and,  for  fear  that  in  like  manner  the  glory  should  go  off, 
there  are  other  early  illusions  which  I  have  refrained  from 
inspecting  too  closely.  Forty  years  ago,  Strathblane  still 
retained  some  traces  of  primitive  simplicity.  The  name 
of  Eob  Eoy  filled  a  larger  place  in  the  imaginations  of  the 
people  than  the  Duke  of  Wellington ;  and  all  who  had 
reached  fourscore  could  recall  the  times  of  the  Pretender. 


14  SKETCH  OF  STRATHBLANE. 

Mrs.  Provan  had  been  eiglit  years  old  when  a  detachment 
of  the  rebel  army  passed  through  the  Muir  of  Fintry,  and 
as  she  was  the  only  one  left  at  home  the  Highlanders 
coaxed  and  threatened  her  by  turns  to  reveal  the  hiding 
place  of  the  meal  and  cheeses  ;  but  although  she  had  seen 
them  buried  in  the  moss,  the  little  maid  was  firm,  and 
neither  swords  nor  "  sweeties "  could  extort  her  secret. 
Some  of  the  old  men  still  wore  the  broad  blue  bonnet,  and 
a  larger  proportion  of  the  old  women  in  showery  weather 
drew  the  hood  of  their  scarlet  mantles  over  their  snowy 
mutches.  The  arrival  of  the  first  umbrella  was  a  com- 
paratively recent  and  well-remembered  era.  The  fortunate 
possessor  was  a  Miss  Eobertson  of  Leddrigreeu,  and  the 
first  day  of  its  public  exhibition  was  a  rainy  Sabbath. 
Being  apprised  of  its  presence  in  church,  all  the  youngsters 
turned  out  to  view  the  phenomenon,  and  as  the  old  lady 
advanced  through  the  descending  flood  under  covert  of 
her  moving  tent,  they  eyed  her  with  such  admiration  as 
some  of  us  have  felt  the  first  time  we  saw  a  man  go  down 
in  a  diving-bell. 

"  As  in  all  primitive  places,  the  people  were  by  no 
means  locomotive.  Margaret  Freeland,  for  upwards  of 
eighty  years,  never  slept  under  any  roof  but  her  own. 
Once  she  was  overtaken  in  Glasgow  by  a  terrible  storm, 
and  her  hostess  would  not  let  her  return  that  evening ; 
but  as,  owing  to  the  strangeness  of  her  situation,  she  lay 
awake  all  night,  she  still  could  boast  that  she  had  never 
slept  out  of  her  own  bed.  One  man  had  visited  the  great 
metropolis.  This  venturous  spirit  was  John  Livingston,  a 
tailor,  and  to  distinguish  him  from  John  Livingston  the 


EARLY  LITERARY  HABITS.  lo 

precentor  (alias  '  singing  Johnnie'),  lie  went  by  the  name 
of  '  London  John.'  We  had  for  a  long  time  no  foreigners  ; 
the  only  exception  being  a  cobbler,  an  old  soldier  from 
England.  William  Orme  and  the  villagers  of  Edinkiln 
did  not  amalgamate.  To  him  they  appeared  coarse  and 
slatternly  ;  and,  with  tea  and  fried  bacon  to  his  breakfast, 
but  with  seldom  a  decent  Sunday  suit,  he.  appeared  to 
them  little  better  than  a  glutton  and  a  self- coddling 
sensualist.  I  suspect,  however,  that  his  Doric  neighbours 
might  have  taken,  with  advantage,  a  leaf  from  the  soft 
spoken  stranger's  book  of  etiquette." 

Like  many  boys,  who  have  ultimately  become  preachers, 
and  some  who  have  not,  he  was  much  addicted  to  preach- 
ing at  a  very  tender  age.  In  one  important  respect,  how- 
ever, his  juvenile  efforts  in  this  direction  were  peculiar ; 
his  were  not  extemporaneous  harangues,  but  regular 
written  sermons,  not  spoken,  but  read  in  select  circles  of 
his  companions.  These  discourses,  when  he  was  between 
nine  and  ten  years  of  age,  were  pronounced  by  one  of  his 
cousins,  some  years  his  senior,  to  be  better  than  those  of 
a  certain  noted  parish  minister  in  Lanarkshire.  Whether 
the  youthful  critic  was  too  partial  to  his  friend,  or  whether 
the  dignified  clergyman  with  whom  he  was  compared  was 
not  a  formidable  rival,  does  not  appear.  One  feature  of 
this  picture  is  interesting  to  ns, — the  mimic  sermons  were 
written  and  read.  The  literary  instinct  already  appears 
in  germ ;  the  small  seed  is  invested  with  a  species  of 
sublimity,  when  we  think  of  the  tree  that  may  spring 
from  it. 

The  education  of  the  family  at  this  time  was  conducted 


1  6  HABITS  OF  STUDY. 

at  home  by  a  resident  tutor ;  and  his  brother,  who  was  his 
fellow-student,  bears  witness  that,  though  exceedingly 
fond  of  play,  James  would  on  no  account  consent  to 
abridge  the  hours  set  apart  for  study.  He  was  not  a 
book- worm  from  inability  or  disinclination  for  sport.  His 
mmd,  even  from  childhood,  was  singularly  well  balanced. 
Judgment  took  command  from  the  first,  and  mere  inclina- 
tion was  resolutely  kept  in  subordination. 

Under  a  general  law  of  the  manse,  the  boys  were  per- 
mitted to  spend  an  hour  or  two  of  the  evening  in  the 
library,  even  while  their  father  was  at  work  there,  but  one 
stern  condition  was  attached  to  the  privilege — absolute 
silence.  "  You  may  come  and  read  as  long  as  you  please, 
and  when  you  are  wearied  you  may  retire,  but  you  may 
not  open  your  lips  while  here."  William,  the  younger 
brother,  seems,  for  the  most  part,  to  have  considered  the 
privilege  dear  at  the  price ;  but  although  he  was  sparing 
in  the  use  of  it  himself,  he  bears  witness  that  "  James 
enjoyed  it  mightily  for  many  years." 

A  reminiscence  of  this  fascination  of  his  childhood 
occurs  appropriately  in  the  introduction  to  a  worlv  of  his 
ripest  years,  Our  Christian  Classics.  "  In  the  following 
pages  the  compiler  must  plead  guilty  to  a  certain  amount 
of  self-indulgence.  -  It  was  his  lot  to  be  born  in  the  midst 
of  old  books.  Before  lie  could  read  them  they  had  become 
a  kind  of  companions,  and,  in  their  coats  of  brown  calf 
and  white  vellum,  great  was  his  admiration  for  tomes  as 
tall  as  himself.  By  and  by,  when  he  was  allowed  to  open 
the  leather  portals,  and  look  in  on  the  solemn  authors  in 
peaked  beards  and  wooden  ruffs,  his  reverence  deepened 


EDUCATIONAL  INFLUENCES.  17 

for  the  mighty  days  of  the  great  departed  ;  and  with  some 
vague  prepossession,  his  first  use  of  the  art  of  reading  was 
to  mimic  an  okler  example,  and  sit  poring  for  hours  over 
Mantou  and  Ho^Dkins,  Keynolds  and  Horton.  Indeed,  so 
intense  did  this  old-fashioned  affection  grow,  that  he  can 
well  remember,  when  compelled  to  shut  the  volume  and 
retire  to  rest,  how,  night  after  night,  he  carri'ed  to  his  cot 
some  bulky  foho,  and  only  fell  asleep  to  dream  of  a 
paradise  where  there  was  no  end  of  books,  and  nothing  to 
interrupt  the  reader.  And  although  it  is  impossible  to 
recall,  without  a  smile,  such  precocious  pedantry,  the 
writer  is  grateful  for  tastes  then  formed  and  for  im- 
pressions then  acquired.  Busier  years  have  made  those 
early  haunts  forbidden,  but  not  altogether  forgotten 
ground." 

Besides  sitting  for  hours  in  the  library  reading  sombre 
folios,  the  boy  took  great  delight  in  listening  to  the  con- 
versation of  those  grave  and  learned  men  who  frequented 
the  manse  as  the  friends  and.  fellow-workers  of  his  father. 
Chief  of  these  conversational  attractions  was  a  certain  Mr. 
Bell,  M'ho  resided  in  the  neighbouring  parish  of  Campsie, 
author  of  a  geography  which  bears  his  name,  and  annotator 
of  Rollins  Ancient  History.  He  is  described  as  having  been 
bodily  a  short,  thickset  man,  with  coarse  features,  two  or 
three  huge  warts  on  his  face,  and  one  eye  nearly  closed ; 
mentally  a  walking  encyclopaedia,  from  which  a  stream  of 
knowledge  flowed  like  oil  from  a  barrel  when  the  bung 
comes  out.  The  chief  difficulty  that  occurred  in  this  literary 
intercourse  was  to  get  Mr.  Bell  stopped  after  he  had  begun  to 
flow.      These  were  precious  opportunities  for  our  student. 

B 


18  EDUCATIONAL  INFLUENCES. 

Silent  at  liis  father's  knee  lie  sat,  wliile  the  rest  of  the 
children  were  at  play,  drinking  in  knowledge  as  thirsty- 
lips  drink  water  from  the  cooling  stream.  As  the  re- 
doubtable geographer  warmed  with  his  theme  the  eye  that 
was  at  liberty  to  move  glanced  grandly  in  unison  with  the 
versatile  evolutions  of  its  owner.  Nor  was  this  man  a 
dictionary  merely  ;  although  his  mind  was  stored  with  the 
knowledge  of  the  world,  his  treasure  lay  in  heaven,  and 
thitherward  his  heart  tended,  like  the  needle  trembling 
towards  its  pole.  The  time  at  length  came  when  the  rural 
philosopher  must  die.  His  friend,  the  minister  of  Strath- 
blane,  hastened  to  his  bed-side  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  his 
illness.  On  his  return  his  family  observed  him  deeply 
affected.  Mr.  Bell,  he  informed  them,  was  dying ;  but 
such  a  deathbed !  It  seemed  not  a  dying,  but  a  transla- 
tion. This  man  of  learning  was  leaning  like  a  child  on 
the  Saviour's  breast.  He  was  saying  and  singing,  as  he 
walked  down  the  sides  of  the  dark  valley,  "  I  will  not  fear, 
for  thou  art  with  me." 

By  the  conversation  of  such  men,  and  the  example  of 
his  father,  besides  the  books  which  he  read,  the  mind  of 
the  scholar  was  stirred,  informed,  and  moulded.  Although 
I  have  not  found  any  record  that  assigns  the  time  and 
manner  of  a  decisive  heart  change,  the  spiritual  life  at  this 
period  seems  to  have  developed  itself  concurrently  with 
the  intellectual.  By  its  fruits  in  those  early  days  we 
know  the  existence  and  strength  of  his  faith,  rather  than 
from  any  articulate  testimony.  Every  Saturday  night  some 
God-fearing  men,  chiefly  from  the  neighbouring  bleachfields 
and  print-works,  convened  in  the  manse  for  the  purpose  of 


FIRST  JOURNAL.  19 

reading  the  Scriptures  together,  and  offering  in  unison 
specific  prayer  for  the  minister  and  his  ministry  on  the 
following  Sabbath.  The  minister's  eldest  son  was  a  con- 
stituent member  of  the  meeting ;  the  fragile  scholar  boy 
and  the  brawny  labouring  men,  with  one  heart,  but  differ- 
ing voices,  offered  alternately  the  united  supplications  of 
the  company  for  the  descent  of  the  Spirit  'to  make  the 
word  of  the  Kingdom  powerful  in  the  assembled  congre- 
gation on  the  Lord's  day. 

The  earliest  journal  that  has  come  into  my  possession 
is  dated  31st  December  1827,  and  bears  as  title  on  the 
blank  leaf — "  Journal  of  the  literary  occupations  of  James 
Hamilton."  I  look  with  deep  interest  on  the  faded  paper 
and  boyish  handwriting  of  this  humble  and  now  venerable 
book.  Here  a  life  in  earnest  begins.  The  spring  that 
bursts  from  the  ground  here,  we  now  know,  became  a  great 
river  ere  it  reached  the  sea.  The  student  was  at  this  time 
only  thirteen  years  of  age;  but  he  bears  himself  most 
manfully  even  at  the  outset.  As  a  student,  from  the  very 
first,  he  is  a  workman  who  "  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed." 
The  first  lines  breathe  the  air  of  a  healthy,  hearty  earnest- 
ness. He  has  girt  up  his  loins  for  a  life-long  journey. 
He  will  not  look  behind  him.  Here  is  a  student  who 
thoroughly  loves  his  work,  and  walks  into  it  with  a  will. 

The  first  ten  months  of  1828  seem  to  have  been  spent 
at  home,  partly  in  miscellaneous  reading,  and  partly  in 
specific  preparation  for  entering  the  Greek  and  Latin 
classes  in  the  University  of  Glasgow.  The  records  of  the 
successive  months  contain  little  more  than  a  list  of  the 
books  that  he  has  read.      His  appetite  was  from  the  first 


20  FIRST  SESSION  AT  COLLEGE. 

voracious.  Indeed  any  judicious  and  experienced  adviser, 
on  glancing  over  these  records  at  the  time,  would  certainly 
have  recommended  a  very  great  reduction  in  the  quantity 
of  the  boy's  reading.  But  the  event  justified  the  practice 
which  at  the  time  was  dictated  only  by  the  mental  appe- 
tite of  the  youthful  scholar.  At  the  moment  any  observer 
might  have  seen  that  he  read  much ;  but  in  due  time  it 
became  evident  that  he  also  read  well.  The  mass  of  mis- 
cellaneous information  which  he  drank  in  during  those 
early  years  was  by  some  peculiar  instinctive  process 
stowed  all  safely  away,  not  in  a  promiscuous  heap,  but  in 
regularly  arranged  and  labelled  compartments,  ready  to 
come  forth  at  call,  as  they  might  successively  be  needed 
in  the  various  exigencies  of  his  subsequent  life. 

The  variety  is  as  noticeable  as  the  vigour  of  his  reading. 
"  Eead  Bonar  on  genuine  religion,  and  the  articles  Opheo- 
logy,  Spectre,  Nile,  Mleometer,  and  the  life  of  William 
Cowper  in  the  Encyclopocdia  Britannica. 

"  Wrote  an  essay  on  population.  30^7i  September. — Slept 
in  the  new  manse  for  the  first  time."  Such  is  a  specimen 
of  the  entries  in  this  juvenile  day-book. 

It  is  not  our  business  here  to  discuss  the  propriety  of 
tlie  custom,  prevalent  in  Scotland,  of  sending  boys  to 
college  at  a  very  tender  age.  It  is  enough  for  us  to 
record  the  fact  that  James  Hamilton  entered  tlie  Univer- 
sity of  Glasgow  on  the  3d  of  November  1828,  before  he 
had  completed  his  fourteenth  year.  His  two  classes  for 
tlie  first  session  Avere  the  Latin  and  the  Greek.  Mr. 
Walker,  who  presided  over  the  Latin  class,  was  an  accom- 
plished man,  and  a  competent  scholar,  but  by  that  time 


FIRST  SESSION  AT  COLLEGE.  21 

enfeebled  through  advanced  age.  The  Professor  of  Greek 
was  the  late  Sir  Daniel  Sandford,  justly  designated  by  his 
eminent  pupil,  James  Halley,  "the  light  of  Glasgow 
College."  I  have  never  known  any  teacher  equal  to  Pro- 
fessor Sandford  in  the  art  of  exciting  the  enthusiasm  of 
his  pupils  for  himself  and  his  theme.  By  Jiis  tenure  of 
the  chair,  alas !  comparatively  short,  a  great  impulse  was 
given  to  the  study  of  Greek  in  the  west  of  Scotland. 

On  the  7th  of  November,  four  days  after  his  entrance, 
the  student's  first  letter  home  was  written.  As  it  is  the 
earliest  example  that  has  come  into  our  hands,  we  submit 
this  primary  epistle  to  the  reader  entire  : — 

"  Glasgow,  November  1th,  1828. 

"My  deae  Eathek, — I  paid  my  subscription,  or  rather 
your  subscription,  to  the  library  yesterday,  and  one  pound 
of  deposit;  so  you  may  have  any  book  you  wish,  by  sending 
me  word,  provided  it  be  not  a  novel,  and  have  no  valuable 
engravings  in  it. 

"  On  Wednesday  afternoon  I  felt  very  sorry  at  your 
going  away.  But  after  a  little  conversation  with  the 
Miss  Marshalls,  and  reading  a  piece  of  Horace,  my  spirits 
recovered.  I  hope  you  and  my  dear  mother  (for  so  I 
must  begin  to  call  mamma  now)  got  home  in  perfect 
safety,  and  found  all  at  the  manse  quite  well. 

"Yesterday  I  was  called  on  for  the  first  time  to  read 
Sallust,  and  received  a  great  many  compliments  from  Pro- 
fessor Walker. 

"  I  do  not  know  who  is  likely  to  be  Lord  Eector  this 
year.  I  understand  that  Lord  John  Campbell  is  to  be  a 
candidate.      But  as  there  is  no  student  to  whom  I  choose 


22  THE  ORIGIN  AND  PROGRESS 

to  speak,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Archibald  Mlntyre, 
I  cannot  say  anything  about  the  matter.  And,  indeed,  if 
you  take  no  more  interest  in  the  matter  than  I  do,  it 
would  be  preposterous  in  me  to  trouble  you  with  any 
conjecture  about  it. 

"  I  am  as  comfortable  here  as  I  think  it  possible  I  could 
be.  Enjoying,  as  I  do,  perfect  health,  and  having  every 
comfort  that  I  could  desire,  I  have  much  cause  of  grati- 
tude to  God. 

"  Miss  Betsey  Marshall  is  in  much  the  same  way  as 
when  you  were  here.  The  ladies  here  desire  to  be  kindly 
remembered  to  you  all.  And  now,  my  dear  father,  fare- 
well. Write  soon.  Give  my  kindest  love  to  my  mother, 
aunt,  William,  and  all  my  sisters,  Mr.  M'Intyre,  and 
Andrew,  if  he  chooses  to  take  it ;  and,  believe  me,  your 
ever  affectionate  James." 

Brave  boy  !  'Not  yet  fourteen  :  mother  and  manse  for 
the  first  time  clean  out  of  sight :  plunged  into  the  heart 
of  a  great  city ;  pushing  his  way  along  crowded  streets, 
where  every  face  is  strange.  There  is  a  fit  of  home -sick- 
ness ;  he  does  not  deny  the  fact ;  but  neither  does  he 
whimper  over  it.  A  talk  with  his  landlady  and  "  a  piece 
of  Horace  "  put  the  disease  to  flight,  and  we  hear  of  it  no 
more. 

A  journal,  written  during  the  summer  of  1831,  assuming 
rather  than  asserting  the  commencement  of  his  spiritual 
life,  is  mainly  occupied  with  circumstances  that  helped 
or  hindered  its  development  and  progress.  Consider- 
ing his  training  and  his  mental  constitution,  and  the 
method   of  Providence    ordinarily    followed    in    similar 


OF  HIS  SPIRITUAL  LIFE.  23 

cases,  I  think  it  is  altogether  probable  that  the  new  life 
began  at  an  age  so  early  that  it  could  not  be  definitely 
marked  either  by  himself  or  others ;  and  that,  through 
the  blessing  of  God  on  a  pious  nurture  and  holy  example, 
it  grew  with  his  growth.  At  the  same  time  it  is  evident 
that  in  his  case,  as  well  as  in  the  experience  of  almost  all 
other  Christians,  there  were  periods  of  sudcten  and  great 
advancement  in  the  divine  life.  An  illness  under  which 
he  laboured,  and  which  he  believed  to  be  unto  death, 
though  certainly  not  the  occasion  of  his  first  dedication  to 
Christ,  seems  to  have  been  the  immediate  means  of  much 
growth  in  grace.  I  look  with  peculiar  interest  on  the 
notes  which  he  has  left  of  his  experience  during  that  sick- 
ness. They  reveal  to  me  some  things  which  I  could  not 
otherwise  have  understood  so  well  in  his  maturer  life. 
There  was  such  a  strength  and  steadiness,  such  a  depth 
and  permanence  in  his  personal  religion,  when  called  to 
mingle  for  many  years  with  the  miscellaneous  society  of 
London,  that,  even  in  absence  of  information,  would  have 
led  one  to  suppose  that  his  faith  at  an  earlier  date  must 
have  been,  through  some  special  divine  dealing,  very  deeply 
and  widely  rooted.  The  sight  of  his  private  day-book, 
written  at  Strathblane  during  the  summer  of  1831,  removes 
the  veil,  and  explains  some  things  that  otherwise  would 
have  been  to  some  extent  inexplicable.  The  Lord  doeth  all 
things  well,  and  makes  all  things  work  together  for  good 
to  His  own.  The  Lord  sees  the  end  from  the  beginning, 
and  prepares  His  own  instruments  in  time  for  the  work 
which  he  foresees  to  be  necessary.  It  is  not  while  the 
sun  is  shining  that  the  roots  of  a  plant  are  refreshed  and 


24  APPKEHENSION  OF  AN 

invigorated  for  resisting  a  subsequent  drought,  and  perfect- 
ing its  fruit  in  harvest.  It  is  under  the  dark  cloud  that 
the  process  of  strengthening  tlie  foundation  goes  on.  God's 
husbandry  in  the  spiritual  sphere  follows  the  analogy  of 
that  in  the  natural.  It  is  in  the  dark  and  cloudy  day, 
ordinarily,  that  the  new  creature,  also  the  planting  of  the 
Lord,  makes  most  progress  in  getting  itself  "  rooted  and 
grounded  "  in  the  hidden  depths  of  redeeming  love.  By 
the  wise  and  kind  providence  of  God  this  youth,  while 
not  yet  seventeen  years  of  age,  was  brought  and  kept  for  a 
while  in  his  own  consciou.sness  close  to  the  edge  of  life  and 
near  the  entrance  of  eternity.  There  he  acquainted  him- 
self with  God ;  there  he  became  strong  in  the  faith  for 
future  work.  There  the  vessel,  previously  chosen,  was 
purified,  enlarged,  strengthened  for  receiving  in  greater 
measure  the  name  of  Clirist,  and  pouring  out  that  name  as 
precious  ointment  to  the  end  of  his  life,  and  wheresoever 
his  lot  might  be  cast. 

"  Sahhath,  May  29 fh,  1831.— The  kind  providence  of 
God  has  liitherto  upheld  me  in  the  enjoyment  of  much 
health  and  comfort ;  but  now  I  seem  to  feel  that  my 
connexion  with  all  that  is  seen  and  temporal  is  near  a 
close.  A  pain  which  I  have  felt  at  intervals  in  my  side  for 
some  time  past  reminds  me  that  I  am  not  to  live  always, 
and  probably  not  long.  It  is  a  solemn  thing  to  die.  The 
dearest  of  God's  saints  have  shrunk  at  the  prospect  of 
crossing  the  dark  waters,  and  unless  they  had  had  the 
arm  of  Immanuel  to  lean  upon,  the  floods  would  have 
overwhelmed  their  souls.  0  for  an  interest  in  the  Ee- 
deemer's  righteousness  !     Could  I  assure  myself  of  pes- 


EARLY  REMOVAL.  -         25 

sessing  that,  death  would  be  welcome.  0  Lord,  say  unto 
me  that  I  am  thine,  and  I  am  prepared  for  what  Thon 
wilt,  and  what  time  Thou  wilt." 

"  Saturday,June  1 1^7«.,  1831. — To-morrow  the  Sacrament 
of  the  Supper  is  to  be  dispensed  here.  0  for  the  wedding 
garment  !  This  may  be  the  last  opportunity  that  I  will 
have  of  commemorating  the  death  of  the  liedeemer.  0 
that  my  desires  were  more  strongly  drawn  out  after  him  ! 
He  is  the  chiefest  among  ten  thousand,  and  altogether 
lovely.  0  that  I  could  see  more  of  his  beauty  and  comeli- 
ness !  Lord,  grant  that  in  encompassing  Thy  table  my 
faith  may  be  strong,  my  love  to  Thee  ardent,  my  sorrow 
and  humiliation  for  sin  greater  than  they  have  ever  been 
heretofore.  Open  the  windows  of  heaven,  and  pour  out  a 
blessing  till  there  be  not  room  enough  to  receive.  I  have 
renewed  my  covenant  with  Thee.  Enable  me  to  remem- 
ber and  keep  it.  May  it  be  an  everlasting  covenant, 
ordered  in  all  things,  and  sure,  and  never  to  be  forgotten. 

"  I  should  like  to  do  something  for  the  cause  of  God 
before  I  go  hence,  and  be  no  more.  For  some  time  I 
have  spent  a  few  hours  occasionally  in  writing  a  life  of  the 
eminent  Mr.  Baxter.  It  is  nearly  finished.  This  week  T 
commenced  writing  a  small  collection  of  hymns  for  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Some  of  them  were  so  pleasant  to  myself 
that  I  thought  it  possible  that,  were  a  number  of  them  col- 
lected and  printed,  they  might  be  the  means  of  cheering 
some  of  Zion's  pilgrims  on  their  heavenward  journey.  I 
have  also  contemplated  a  translation  of  Arrowsmith's 
Tadica  Sacra.  To  the  execution  of  these  undertakings  I 
would  devote  what  time  can  be  properly  spared  from  my 
other  studies." 


2b  EZUGIOUS  EXPEEIESCE. 

"  Sahbaffi^  June  12th^  1S31. — This  dav  sat  down  at  the 
tatle  of  the  LoivL  My  own  impression  is  that  I  shall  not 
hereafter  taste  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine  till  that  day  that  I 
shall  drinlr  it  new  in  my  heavenly  Father's  kingdom. 
Had  some  enjoymenr  in  the  ordinance,  but  too  little 
spirituality  for  a  dying  creatura  I  have  this  day  solemnly 
and  publicly  said  that  whatever  others  do,  I  shall  serve 
the  Lord.  Help  me.  Lord,  to  keep  this  resolution,  and 
may  the  temptations  of  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil, 
not  allure  me  from  Thy  ways.  Guide  me  by  Thy  kind 
counsel  through  life,  and  after  death  receive  me  to  Thy 
glor\*.     Amen." 

In  the  earlier  portion  of  the  snmmer  recess,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  dispensation  of  the  Lord's  Supper  at  Strath- 
blane,  he  devoted  an  entire  week  to  religious  reading, 
meditation,  self-examination,  and  prayer.  By  these  exer- 
cises his  sense  of  sin  was  greatly  increased,  as  his  tender 
and  full  confessions  show;  but  though  he  increased  in 
the  knowledge  of  his  own  unworthiness,  his  hope  and 
happiness  did  not  fade,  for  the  more  he  discovered  of  his 
own  need  the  more  he  saw  of  the  Eedeemer's  fulness. 
On  the  whole,  while  his  religious  exercises  at  this  time 
certainly  ran  mainly  in  the  direction  of  a  keen  self-dissec- 
tion and  stem  self-condemnation,  the  tone  of  his  mind 
remained  thoroughly  healthful  His  faith  throughout 
remained  firm  and  his  hope  bright  Severe  and  protracted 
introspection  did  not  in  his  case  generate  in  any  de- 
gree a  morbid  moroseness.  It  made  his  piety  stronger 
without  fliTniTn>hinCT  its  elasticity  and  cheerfulness. 

Considering  the  form  which  his  religious  activity  at 


RELIGIOUS  EXPEEIEXCE.  2  t 

this  time  assumed,  and  the  views  of  those  authors  with 
whose  works  he  was  most  familiar,  we  need  not  be  sur- 
prised to  learn  that  he  wrote  and  signed  a  formal  personal 
covenant,  dedicating  himself  to  God  in  the  gospel  of  his 
Son.  In  order  that  those  who  knew  him  in  later  years, 
and  admired  the  buoyant,  hopeful,  winsome  type  of  Chris- 
tianity which  he  exhibited  in  the  various  circles  of  Lon- 
don society,  may  know  something  of  the  roots  which  bore 
so  many  sparkling  clusters,  I  think  it  my  duty  to  give 
this  document  in  full  It  is  written  out  at  the  end  of  the 
book,  and  under  the  corresponding  date  in  the  journal 
occurs  a  notice  of  the  circumstances  connected  with  it : — 
"...  Endeavoured  to  humble  myself  before  the  Lord 
because  of  these  sins,  and  plead  the  righteousness  of  Jesus 
as  my  only  ground  of  acceptance,  I  wrote  dsyvra.  the  form 
of  a  personal  covenant,  finding  that  that  which  I  made 
this  time  two  years  wanted  some  things  which  I  now 
wished  to  be  in  it.  But  the  church  and  the  Sabbath- 
school  and  the  prayer-meeting  prevented  me  from  pro- 
ceeding any  further  that  day ;  so  I  this  evening  did  on 
my  bended  knees,  in  the  presence  of  the  God  of  heaven 
and  earth,  set  my  worthless  name  to  the  covenant,  and 
vouch  him  to  be  my  God  and  father,  the  Lord  Jesus 
to  be  my  only  Saviour  and  Intercessor,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  be  my  sanctifier  and  guide.  This  done,  I  be- 
sought a  special  blessing  on  the  approaching  communion 
for  myself  and  fellow- worshippers. 

"  THE  covzyA^rr. 
"0  Lord,  I  have  sinned  in  Adam,  and  at  mv  coming 


28  PERSONAL  COVENANT. 

into  the  world  I  was  covered  with  guilt-pollution.  In 
the  first  actings  of  my  infant  years  I  manifested  the 
strength  of  that  depravity  within  which  made  me  prone 
to  every  evil  and  backward  to  all  good.  The  wdiole  tenor 
of  my  life  has  been  a  building  of  actual  guilt  upon  the 
foundation  of  original  corruption.  I  am  a  dying  as  well 
as  an  immortal  creature,  and  if  I  die  in  my  sins  I  must 
perish  everlastingly.  But  no  efforts  of  my  own  can  save 
me  from  my  sins,  for  the  longer  I  live  I  sink  the  deeper 
in  the  mire  ;  nor  do  my  efforts  to  extricate  myself  avail. 
Unless  a  stronger  arm  come  to  my  deliverance  I  must 
perish ;  but  such  a  deliverance  is  to  be  had  in  the  Lord 
Jesus.  Upon  the  sure  testimony  of  Thy  own  Word  I 
believe  that  a  gracious  covenant  was  from  all  eternity 
entered  into  by  Jehovah,  the  first  person  in  the  blessed 
Trinity,  upon  the  part  of  heaven,  and  by  Jehovah,  the 
second  person  in  the  Godhead,  even  Immanuel,  the  second 
Adam,  on  the  part  of  lost  sinners,  whereby,  on  condition 
of  His  fulfilling  all  righteousness,  the  elect  should  be 
saved.  And  I  believe  that  the  terms  of  the  covenant 
have  been  fulfilled  by  his  meritorious  life  and  death,  and 
that  now  the  way  of  salvation  is  opened  up,  and  that  he 
who  believeth  on  Jesus  shall  not  perish,  but  have  ever- 
lasting life,  and  that  henceforth  there  is  no  condemnation 
to  them  who  are  in  Him. 

"  0  Lord,  I  would  ascribe  everlasting  praise  unto  Thy 
name  for  this  well-ordered  covenant,  and  would  now  take 
hold  of  it  for  my  soul's  eternal  salvation,  through  faith  in 
Christ.  I  acquiesce  in,  love,  and  admire,  the  covenant,  as 
all  my  salvation  and  all  my  desire.     I  embrace  Jesus 


PEKSONAL  COVENANT.  .  29 

Clirist  as  he  is  offered  to  my  acceptance  in  the  Gospel,  in 
all  His  offices  of  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King, — as  my 
Surety,  Intercessor,  and  Eedeemer ;  ^and  in  him  God,  as 
my  God  and  Father,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  as  my  Sauctifier, 
Comforter,  and  Guide. 

"  Every  sin  that  has  had  dominion  over  me  I  renounce, 
grieving  that  so  many  idols  have  had  dominion  over  me, 
and  praying  that  grace  from  on  high  may  be  given  me  to 
carry  on,  in  the  strength  of  my  mighty  Eedeemer,  an 
unremitting  and  successful  war  against  all  my  spiritual 
enemies. 

"  To  Thee  and  to  Thy  service  I  surrender  all  the 
faculties  Thou  hast  bestowed  upon  me,  and  j)ray  that 
Thou  wouldest  honour  me  to  be  successful  in  Thy  service. 
Grant  unto  me  more  and  more  to  know  Thee.  Strengthen 
in  me  that  which  is  good,  and  root  out  that  which  is  evil. 
Make  Thy  grace  sufficient  for  my  need,  and  perfect  Thy 
strength  in  my  weakness.  Support  me  in  the  time  of 
trial  and  temptation,  and  stand  by  me  in  the  hour  of 
death.  Do  Thou  then  lift  upon  me  the  light  of  Thy 
reconciled  countenance,  and  make  me  to  behold  it.  And 
may  all  near  and  dear  unto  me  possess  an  interest  in  the 
blessings  of  salvation. 

"  0  Lord,  behold  me,  I  am  thy  servant ;  and  in  token 
that  I  am  thine  I  do  hereto  subscribe  my  unworthy 
name,  James  Ha:\iilton. 

"June.  Sth,  1832. 

"To  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,  one  God,  be  glory  for  ever. 
Amen." 

At  this  period,  plans  for  the  arrangement  of  his  studies 


30  JOURNAL. 

frequently  occur  in  his  journal.  Although  he  never 
practically  attained  his  own  ideal,  it  is  evident  that  he 
derived  very  great  benefit  from  the  habit  of  mapping  out 
beforehand  the  work  which  he  desired  to  overtake,  and 
noting  afterwards  the  measure  of  his  success  or  failure. 
Both  in  the  ordinary  studies  of  his  course  at  college,  and 
in  readmg  for  his  own  spiritual  profit,  his  life  was  a  con- 
stant and  eager  effort  to  forget  the  things  that  were  behind, 
and  to  reach  forward  to  the  mark  of  a  higher  attainment 
which  he  had  set  up  on  the  horizon  of  the  future. 

"  Saturday,  June  2^tli. — Impressed  with  the  importance 
of  observing  methods  (which  I  am  sensible  that  I  have 
hitherto  too  much  neglected),  I  purpose  to  form,  and,  if 
health  be  granted  to  me,  to  follow  out  a  course  of  theological 
reading.  For  some  time  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  reading 
a  portion  of  Henry's  Commentary  every  day.  This  I  intend 
to  continue,  I  ought  to  read  some  system  of  Divinity, — 
either  Doolittle,  Dwight,  Hill,  or  Boston.  Eead  also  the 
following."  Then  follows  a  list  of  87  works,  17  of  which 
are  biographical. 

"  Wednesday,  June  29th. — Kose  to-day  at  four  o'clock,  and 
finished  Baxter's  Life.  I  laid  it  before  the  Lord,  and  im- 
plored his  blessing  on  it.  I  intend  to  devote  next  Saturday 
to  the  correcting  of  it,  previous  to  sending  it  up  to  the 
London  Tract  Society,  in  whose  series  of  Christian  bio- 
graphy I  wish  it  to  be  inserted.  If  well,  I  may  perhaps 
write  a  similar  account  of  Boston,  Ilalybiu'ton,  or  some  of 
the  eminently  pious  ministers  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland. 
The  pleasure  and  benefit  resulting  from  the  exercise  are 
ample  recompense  for  the  trouble." 


A  LITERARY  ADVENTURE.  31 

"Friday,  July  Stii,  1831. — Sent  off  Baxter  to-day,  with 
the  following  letter  : — 

"  '  Sir, — I  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  to  you  a  life  of 
Baxter,  written  with  a  view  to  insertion  in  the  series  of 
Christian  Biography  published  by  the  London  Tract 
Society.  In  writing  it,  I  consulted  all  the  authorities 
which  I  could  meet  with  (Mr.  Orme's  Memoir  excepted), 
but  have  used  the  words  of  Baxter  himself,  as  contained 
in  his  Narrative  of  his  Life  and  Times,  when  this  could 
be  done  with  propriety.  I  lay  claim  to  no  merit,  except 
that  of  a  strict  adherence  to  the  truth,  and  a  studious 
wish  to  admit  no  expression  which  might  give  offence  to 
any  individual  who  believes  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in 
sincerity  and  truth.  Whether  or  not  I  have  succeeded 
belongs  to  you  to  judge. 

" '  Should  I  be  so  happy  as  to  have  this  Life  accepted, 
I  would  have  no  objections  to  write  a  similar  account  of 
Boston,  Doolittle,  Halyburton,  or  some  other  eminent 
divine,  in  the  course  of  a  few  months. 

" '  If  the  Mss.  be  not  wanted,  have  the  goodness  to  return 
them. — I  am.  Sir,  with  much  esteem  and  respect,  your 
mo.  obedt.  sert., 

' '  James  Hamilton. 

"'June  30,  1831. 
"  '  To  the  Secretary  of  the  London  Tract  Society.' " 

Many  readers  who  have  been  delighted  and  instructed 
by  the  products  of  his  matured  mind  will  be  interested  to 
observe  how  early  and  how  eagerly  his  instincts  led  him 
into  authorship.  His  Memoir  of  Baxter  was  politely 
declined  by  the  Secretary  of  the  London  Tract  Society. 


32  RELIGIOUS  TEACT  SOCIETY. 

Nothing  daunted,  the  youthful  biographer  obtained  an 
introduction  to  the  conductor  of  a  similar  society  on  a 
smaller  scale  in  Glasgow,  who  thankfully  received  from 
him  and  published  the  Life  of  Baxter  in  an  abridged  form. 
In  subsequent  issues,  they  sent  out  notices  of  the  lives  of 
Jonathan  Edwards  and  Boston  from  the  same  juvenile, 
but  already  prolific  pen.  Not  having  access  to  these 
tracts,  I  cannot  judge  whether  the  author's  lack  of 
patronage,  or  the  substantial  defects  of  liis  earliest  efforts, 
may  have  been  the  cause  of  his  want  of  success  with 
the  great  JMetropolitan  Society.  Certain  it  is  that  at  a 
later  day  biographical  tracts  by  James  Hamilton  would 
not  have  gone  a-begging  from  their  door.  At  a  later  date, 
they  discovered  and  acknowledged  his  worth  in  the  de- 
partment of  Christian  Literature  for  the  People.  Twenty 
years  afterwards,  they  solicited  his  help.  It  is  interesting 
to  mark  the  contrast ;  and,  accordingly,  we  place  on  record 
here  the  principal  parts  of  the  letter  addressed  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Loudon  Tract  Society  to  Mr.  Hamilton. 

"  I  beg  leave  to  enclose  a  communication  respecting  a 
new  journal  for  the  masses,  which  this  Society  contemplates 
establishing.  I  most  respectfully,  yet  most  earnestly, 
solicit  the  favour  of  at  least  an  occasional  contribution  to 
the  pages  of  this  magazine.  The  press  groans  with  the 
weekly  issue  of  periodicals  steeped  in  sensuality,  imbued 
with  a  secular  spirit,  if  not  tinged  with  infidelity.  It  is 
surely  time  that  an  effort  should  be  made  to  rescue  this 
department  of  literature  from  the  hands  in  which  it  lias 
hitherto  been  too  much  left,  and  so  consecrating  it  to  the 
Ecdeemcr's  service.     To  do  this  effectually  we  must  have 


RELIGIOUS  TRACT  SOCIETY.  33 

not  only  sound  piety,  but  consecrated  talent  of  the  highest 
order  that  can  be  procured. 

"From  the  moment  the  Journal  was  projected  my 
thoughts  have  turned  to  you,  as  the  writer  capable  of 
gaining  the  ear  of  the  masses,  and  winning  the  way  to 
their  hearts. 

"  My  connexion  with  this  Society  is  of  a  comparatively 
•recent  character,  and  I  learn  with  regret  that  from  some 
cause  imperfectly  understood,  you  have  not  hitherto  written 
anything  for  us.  I  trust,  however,  that  this  difficulty  is 
not  an  insuperable  one.  The  cause  of  the  working  man  I 
must  leave  to  plead  with  you.  You  would  have,  I  hope, 
if  our  arrangements  are  successful,  writers  of  eminence  as 
your  coadjutors. 

"  You  will  pardon  me  if  I  am  reluctant  to  contemplate 
a  total  refusal  of  my  request.  For  years  I  have  been  a 
profited  reader  of  your  writings.  To  Life  in  Earnest,  per- 
used and  reperused,  I  personally  owe  deep  obligation,  and 
to  recommend  it  to  others  I  have  always  felt  a  great 
privilege." 

Let  it  be  fairly  acknowledged,  however,  that  twenty 
years  elapsed  between  the  time  when  James  Hamilton 
solicited  the  Society  for  employment,  and  the  time  when 
the  Society  solicited  him  for  aid.  It  may  be  freely  con- 
ceded that  the  biographer  of  Baxter  had  grown  in  power 
during  the  interval,  and  yet  it  is  possible  that  if  the 
earlier  representatives  of  the  institution  had  been  more 
attentive  and  more  acute,  they  might  have  seen  in  the 
volunteered  contribution  from  Strathblane  something 
worthy  of  their  notice,  both  on  account  of  what  it  achieved 

c 


34  RENEWED  ANTICIPATIONS 

and  what  its  achievement  by  a'  youth  promised  for  the 
future. 

As  the  season  advanced,  the  impression  that  his  time 
■would  be 'short  gained  ground.  At  this  period  he  seems 
to  have  thought  that  secular  studies  were  labour  lost, 
inasmuch  as  he  did  not  expect  to  live  long  enough  to 
turn  them  to  any  account.  "  What  time  I  can  command 
I  mean  now  to  devote  to  the  perusal  of  such  books  as  are 
best  fitted  to  prepare  me  for  crossing  the  dark  waters. 

"  Tuesday,  July  2Qth. — Last  Saturday  I  was  called  to 
attend  the  funeral  of  my  cousin,  Jeanie  Adam,  at  Paisley. 
Three  months  have  not  elapsed  since  in  the  same  church- 
yard 1  saw  the  remains  of  my  aunt  committed  to  the 
grave.  Of  her  happiness  I  dare  not  entertain  a  doubt,  for 
I  never  saw,  and  never  again  may  see,  one  whose  affec- 
tions were  more  completely  raised  above  all  that  is  seen 
and  temporal,  and  whose  conversation  was  more  in  heaven. 
Jane  Adam  also  died  declaring  her  hopes  of  acceptance 
with  God,  rested  on  the  finished  work  of  Christ  alone; 
and  who  that  ever  put  their  trust  in  Him  were  ever  put 
to  shame  ?  Many  of  my  relatives  are  now  in  glory,  and 
my  heart's  desire  and  prayer  for  those  who  yet  remain 
are  that  they  may  be  saved.  May  we  be  followers  of 
them  who  through  faith  and  patience  are  now  inheriting 
the  promises. 

"  Sabbath  morning,  July  Z\d. — A  new  ailment  has  been 
sent  to  bid  me  prepare  to  meet  the  Lord.  But  blessed  be 
His  name,  I  think  I  can  say,  '  I  know  in  whom  I  have 
beheved.'  Lord  Jesus,  into  Thy  hands  I  commit  myself ; 
and  while  heart  and  flesh  do  faint  and  fail,  be  Thou  the 


OF  EAELY  REMOVAL.  35 

strength  of  my  heart  and  my  portion  for  ever.  The  filthy 
rags  of  my  own  righteousness  I  entirely  renounce,  and 
desire  to  be  clothed  upon  with  Thy  perfect  and  all- 
sufficient  righteousness.  Into  Thy  hands  I  commit  my 
spirit.  Heaven  is  too  holy  a  place  for  one  so  vile,  but 
oh,  shut  me  not  out  of  Thy  presence,  where  alone  there 
is  fulness  of  joy  ! 

"  When  I  am  taken  away  from  them,  0  Lord,  comfort 
my  dear  parents.  May  they  not  sorrow  as  those  who 
have  no  hope.  Enrich  them  with  Thy  best  blessing.  Be 
the  God  and  Father  of  all  near  and  dear  unto  me.  Bless 
my  brothers  and  sisters.  May  they  have  a  loving  spirit 
towards  each  other,  and  may  they  be  all  united  to  Thyself. 
Prepare  them  for  Thy  heavenly  kingdom,  and  may  the 
soul  of  none  of  them  be  lost,  but  may  we  spend  a  happy 
eternity  together,  for  Thy  own  Son's  sake.     Amen. 

"  Many  are  the  precious  opportunities  I  have  neglected 
and  allowed  to  pass  unimproved.  My  life  has  been  un- 
profitable, 0  may  my  death  be  more  blessed  than  my 
life !  May  it  be  the  means  of  leading  some  who  have 
hitherto  been  careless  and  unconcerned,  to  consideration 
and  serious  concern  for  the  salvation  of  their  precious 
souls ;  then  shall  I  not  have  lived  in  vain. 

'  To  Jesus,  the  ground  of  my  hope, 
My  soul  is  in  haste  to  be  gone ; 
Oh  bear  me,  ye  cherubims,  up, 
And  waft  me  away  to  his  throne.' 

"  Saturday,  Atigust  6t7i. — I  have  had  some  thoughts  of 
writing  a  series  of  lives  of  the  principal  theological  authors 
of  the  Scottish  nation,  to  be  sent  to  the  Christian  Instruc  - 


36  SPIRITUAL  EXPERIENCE 

tor.  In  it  I  would  propose  to  insert  memoirs  of  Boston, 
Binning,  Ilutlierford,  W.  Guthrie,  Durham,  Craighead, 
Muir  of  Paisley,  Wishart,  Webster  (James),  etc.  In  doing 
so,  I  would  acquire  a  knowledge  of  our  ecclesiastical 
history  which  I  might  not  otherwise  attain,  and  might 
possibly  have  some  little  effect  in  drawing  attention  to 
their  writings,  which  might  be  followed  with  most  bene- 
ficial results. 

"  Saturday,  Ai(gust  27th. — To-day  was  reading  the 
account  in  Gillies  of  the  awakening  at  the  Kirk  of  Shotts. 
How  stately  were  God's  goings  in  his  sanctuary  that  day  ! 
Awake,  0  arm  of  the  Lord,  as  in  the  days  of  old !  O 
blessed  Spirit !  breathe  on  these  dry  bones  with  which  the 
valley  of  the  visible  Church  has  so  long  been  filled,  and 
they  shall  live.  The  fathers,  where  are  they,  and  the 
prophets,  do  they  live  for  ever  ?  Wliere  now  are  the  men 
who  would  renew  the  scenes  of  Cambuslang  and  the  Kirk 
of  Shotts  ?  Surely  there  are  not  a  few  to  be  found  who 
would  rejoice  to  see  these  days  of  the  Son  of  Man  re- 
newed. When  will  that  communion  solemnity  arrive  at 
Strathblane,  when  there  shall  be  a  general  weeping  and 
mourning  for  sin,  and  men  crying  out,  *  0  that  I  knew 
where  I  might  find  him  ! '  Such  glorious  seasons  are 
coming.  Ere  long  the  wilderness  and  solitary  place  shaU 
become  a  fruitful  field,  and  the  fruitful  field  shall  be 
counted  for  a  forest.  When  I  use  these  words  they 
remind  me  of  Mr.  M'Donald  of  Urquhart,  whom  I  heard 
preach  from  them  on  the  evening  of  the  Glasgow  Fast, 
last  April.  I  shall  ever  remember  that  holy  man's  ser- 
mon.    Surely  he  preached  with  the  Spirit,  and  no  other 


AND  LITERARY  WORK.  37 

preaching  can  do  good.  I  do  not  know  whether  to  set 
him  or  Mr.  Sherrif  or  my  father  highest  of  the  preachers 
I  have  heard.  Surely  they  are  all  precious  in  the  sight 
of  God,  whose  approbation  and  blessing  if  they  gain,  what 
more  need  they  mind  ?" 

Towards  the  autumn,  without  any  express  notice  of  the 
fact,  it  appears  from  the  tone  of  his  journal  that  the 
expectation  of  an  early  removal  gradually  wore  away. 
Eelieved  from  the  restraint  under  which  he  had  placed 
himself,  he  launches  forth  again  with  vigour  into  all  the 
departments  of  useful  knowledge  that  lay  within  his 
reach.  At  this  time  he  had  not  completed  his  seven- 
teenth year. 

"  Friday,  September  Id. — For  two  days  have  been  en- 
gaged without  ceasing  in  reading  Sir  H.  Davy's  Life,  a 
book  which,  when  I  once  begin,  I  do  not  know  when  or 
how  to  leave  off.  What  an  astonishing  man  he  was  !  One 
would  think  that  nothing  in  the  world  escaped  his  notice 
but  the  God  who  made  it.  He  appears  to  have  gained 
everything  but  the  thing  he  most  desired,  and  that  was 
happiness.  For  as  far  as  I  may  judge  from  his  Memoirs, 
he  had  none  of  that  to  spare ;  and  the  reason  is  plain, 
because  he  sought  it  in  meat  and  drink,  in  the  theatre,  the 
ball-room,  and  the  billiard- table,  in  his  medals,  and  his 
laboratory,  instead  of  seeking  it  where  alone  it  has  ever 
yet  been  found — in  God.  My  prayer  to  God  would  be, 
Lord,  make  me  a  Christian  philosopher,  or  none  at  all. 
Withhold  this  world's  learning  from  me  if  the  price  of  it 
is  to  be  my  interest  in  the  Saviour. 

"  Get  and  read  Dr.  Erskine's  Letters,  and  Meditations  of 


38  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH 

Hall  of  Du7iglass,  immediately,  also  Middleton's  BiograpJiia 
Evangelica." 

His  sister  Elizabeth,  iDeautiful  and  wiusome  in  person, 
of  precocious  intellect,  and  early  developed  spiritual  life, 
was  removed  this  season,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years  and 
five  months.  This  was  the  first  breach  in  the  circle  of 
the  family ;  and  touching  proofs  appear  from  time  to  time 
through  all  their  subsequent  history  that  the  treasure 
taken  away  was  counted  very  precious,  and  that  the  blank 
stood  long  open  refusing  to  be  filled  up.  Her  illness  was 
protracted,  and  both  its  character  and  its  duration  tended 
at  once  to  develop  more  fully  the  loveliness  of  the  patient, 
and  to  make  all  the  house  cling  more  fondly  to  the  spirit 
that  was  passing  away.  The  case  occurs  so  frequently  that 
experienced  observers  have  been  inclined  to  set  it  down 
as  a  general  law  that  consumption  seems  to  single  out  as 
its  victims  the  finest  specimens  of  our  kind.  Whether  it 
selects  the  refined,  or  refines  after  selecting  them,  it  is 
certain  that  we  have  seen  many  very  lovely  sun-settings 
through  that  dark  cloud  which  hangs  so  heavy  and  so  con- 
stant on  the  horizon  of  humanity  in  our  northern  clime. 

Indications  from  all  quarters  show  that  in  those  years 
Elizabeth  was  the  centre  of  attraction  for  the  whole 
family,  and  in  some  measure  also  for  a  wider  circle.  She 
read  French,  and  had  made  some  progress  in  Greek.  Her 
disposition  Avas  both  sweet  and  sprightly.  The  sick-room 
became  the  favourite  place  of  resort.  In  this  case  too 
the  insidious  malady  exerted  its  proverbial  power  of  de- 
ception. Expectations  of  her  recovery  were  entertained 
till  near  the  close ;  aiid,  strange  to  say,  it  was  the  bright- 


OF  HIS  SISTER  ELIZABETH.  39 

ness  of  her  eye  that  quenched  these  hopes  at  last.  An 
eminent  physician  called  for  consultation  said  on  retiring, 
in  reply  to  her  mother's  anxious  inquiries,  "  I  don't  like 
that  bright  eye."  Alas  !  this  was  the  symptom  which  had 
hitherto  sustained  the  hope  of  the  fond  but  unskilled 
mother.  Such  a  radiance  she  thought  betokens  a  longer 
life  on  earth ;  it  rather  betokened  an  early  removal  to 
heaven.  The  parents,  warned  by  the  physician's  gentle 
but  faithful  hint,  prepared  themselves  to  resign  the  gift 
into  the  Giver's  hand.  The  desire  of  their  eyes  was  re- 
moved with  a  stroke,  but  the  faith  of  their  hearts  remained 
firm,  and  they  cherished  the  memory  of  Elizabeth  as  still 
a  member  of  the  family,  though  taken  home  before  the 
rest. 

"Saturday,  Sepiemher  10th. — After  an  illness  of  more 
than  a  year  and  a  half's  duration,  my  dear  sister  seems 
now  to  be  drawing  near  the  end  of  all  things  earthly.  It 
is  cause  of  gratitude  to  the  Father  of  mercies  that  she 
shows  satisfactory  evidence  of  a  state  of  reconciliation  to 
God,  which  at  this  moment  affords  me  far  greater  comfort 
than  her  living  to  the  utmost  term  of  human  existence 
destitute  of  the  grace  of  God  could  have  done. 

"  Tuesday,  September  13th. — Dear  Elizabeth  has  been 
now  for  some  hours  in  the  enjoyment  of  immortality.  She 
joined  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born 
at  a  quarter  before  twelve  this  forenoon. 

"  My  prayers  for  her  are  now  ended,  and  I  would  now 
thank  the  Lord  for  the  kindness  of  His  ways  of  dealing  with 
her — for  her  easy  dismission  from  the  body — above  all,  for 
the  work  of  grace  which  He  hath  carried  on  in  her  heart. 


40  OPPORTUNITIES  AND  PLANS 

"  For  myself  and  my  surviving  relations,  my  prayer  is 
that  the  Lord  would  be  pleased  to  make  us  possessors  of 
the  faith  and  patience  of  those  who  now  inherit  the  pro- 
mises, and  then  we  shall  also  be  made  partakers  of  their 

joy." 

"  Sabbath,  October  2d. — Was  chiefly  occupied  in  reading 
The  Pilgrim's  Progress,  with  Scott's  notes.  Many  have 
considered  this  book  next  in  value  to  the  Bible,  and  of 
any  books  I  have  yet  read  it  is  certainly  the  chief.  The 
cause  of  its  being  so  good  is  that  it  has  so  much  of  the 
Bible  in  it.  Eeading  it  with  self-application,  I  thought 
that  I  had  a  good  hope  through  grace  that  I  was  travelling 
the  pilgrim's  road  to  the  celestial  city ;  but  my  conscience 
bears  me  witness  that  in  nothing  do  I  equal  Christian  save 
in  his  deviations  from  the  strait  and  narrow  way ;  and  in 
these  I  am  more  than  his  equal.  If  the  Lord  would  only 
bring  me  back  to  himself  as  often  as  I  wander  from  his 
good  ways,  let  Him  do  what  seemeth  Him  good  with  me 
as  far  as  other  things  are  concerned." 

The  entries  in  the  journal  during  this  season  are  frequent 
and  full.  They  are  all  occupied  with  spiritual  reflections, 
strangely  mature  considering  the  age  of  the  writer,  and 
interspersed  with  plans  and  resolutions  for  prosecuting  his 
work.  In  order  to  economize  space  it  is  necessary  to 
make  selections  from  papers  that  are  all  of  a  similar  char- 
acter. It  was  a  season  of  great  intellectual  activity  and 
of  rapid  spiritual  progress. 

"  Glasgow,  5th  Noveiuber  183L — This  morning  I  left  my 
father's  house  in  order  to  attend  the  session  of  college. 
In  my  present  circumstances  there  is  much  which  calls 


FOR  WORK  AT  COLLEGE.  41 

for  my  most  lively  gratitude.  I  have  a  house  to  myself, 
which  is  rendered  somewhat  like  home  by  having  my 
sister  and  the  furniture  to  which  I  was  used  there.  I 
hope  to  derive  much  pleasure  from  attending  upon  the 
Greek,  and  especially  the  logic  class.  Above  all,  I  have 
the  means  of  grace — good  ministers,  good  books,  and  the 
Bible.  With  the  health  I  enjoy,  and  by  the  blessing  of 
the  Lord,  this  may  be  a  profitable  winter  both  for  my 
intellectual  and  spiritual  improvement.  Lord,  I  thank 
Thee  for  Thy  goodness." 

"  Sabbath,  Novciiibcr  QtJi. — Renewed  my  solemn  engage- 
ments to  be  the  Lord's — to  fight  against  sin,  the  world, 
the  flesh,  and  the  devil — to  be  for  the  Lord,  and  for  Him 
alone.  May  He  grant  that  in  all  circumstances  wherein 
I  may  be  placed  His  glory  may  be  the  object  of  all  my 
exertions,  and  His  word  and  will  the  rule  of  all  my  actions. 

"  Monday,  November  7  th. — I  am  to  attend  the  Greek  and 
logic  classes  this  winter.  Though  I  cannot  be  certain 
that  it  will  be  at  all  times  expedient  or  even  practicable 
to  follow  them  out,  I  make  the  following  suggestions  for 
the  employment  of  my  time  till  the  Christmas  recess  : — 

"  Eise  at  a  quarter  to  7.  Eead  Henry's  Commentary. 
Attend  Greek  and  logic  classes  from  half-past  7  to  half- 
past  9.  Breakfast.  10  to  11  write  logic  lectures.  11  to 
1 2  attend  the  logic  class.  1 2  to  2  write  letters ;  prepare 
for  Greek;  write  notes  of  the  logic  lectures;  get  books 
from  the  library,  etc.  2  to  3  Greek  class.  3  to  4  walk, 
dine.  4  to  6  Greek.  6  to  7  logic.  7  tea.  Half-past  7 
to  9  logic.  9  worship.  Half-past  9  to  half-past  12  read 
two  chapters  of  Greek  Testament,  and  go  to  bed. 


42  COMPETITION  FOR  THE  PRIZE  AT 

"Mem. — Eead  Potter's  Antiquities.  Tlieatrc  of  Greeks, 
Rollin's  History. 

"Sabbath,  Novemher  27  th. — A  pain  at  onetime  in  my 
breast  and  at  another  time  in  my  side,  made  me  apprehend 
that  earth  and  the  things  of  earth  were  to  me  near  a  close. 
These  apprehensions  the  Lord  has  disappointed,  and  the 
day  of  my  visitation  is  still  lengthened  ont.  0  may  I 
improve  it  for  the  gracious  end  for  which  it  has  been  given  ! 

"  I  would  wish  to  improve  time  better.  For  this  purpose 
I  would  avoid  all  unnecessary  or  useless  visiting,  never  go 
out  to  any  party  more  than  once  in  the  week,  and  seldomer 
if  I  can.  Never  be  more  than  seven  hours  at  a  time  in 
bed  during  the  winter,  except  when  unwell,  or  deprived  of 
my  usual  rest.  Spend  as  short  time  as  possible  on  my 
meals  when  by  myself.  Always  carry  about  some  book 
for  occupying  odd  minutes.  Attend  to  my  most  necessary 
studies  first.     Do  things  methodically. 

"There  are  a  few  things  which  I  would  like  to  do 
before  my  next  birthday,  viz. : — Finish  my  lives  of  Chris- 
tian authors  for  the  Tract  Society.  AVrite  some  life  for 
the  London  Tract  Society's  series.  Form  a  society  for 
religious  purposes  among  the  sons  of  clergymen  attending 
the  College.     Write  a  collection  of  hymns  for  young  men. 

"  T2tcsdai/,  December  Qth. — For  some  days  past  have  been 
very  busy  preparing  for  the  Greek  Prize  Profession,  and, 
if  well,  must  be  equally  busy  for  two  weeks  longer.  It  is 
hard  work.  Two  months  of  it  would  make  me  unfit  for 
any  exertion.  And  tliis  is  all  for  a  single  prize,  which  I 
am  far  from  being  sure  of  gaining,  and  which,  though 
gained,  can  do  me  little  good.     How  different  from  that 


BLACKSTONE  EXAMINATION.  43 

prize  which  is  held  out  to  the  acceptance  of  all,  and  which 
will  impart  joy  unmingled,  honoiir  unfading,  and  happiness 
eternal,  on  its  possessor !  For  this  prize  may  I  be  con- 
tinually straining  every  nerve,  and  in  due  time,  by  grace 
from  on  high  keeping  me  from  fainting,  I  shall  reap. 

"Thursday,  Dec.  22 d. — This  was  the  day  of  the  Greek 
Prize  Profession.  The  competitors  were,  Georgius  Forsythe, 
Jacobus  Connal  and  Hamilton,  Joannes  Wardlaw,  Jos. 
Crompton,  and  Eamsay  Campbell.  I  professed  the 
Odyssey  and  Iliad,  2  books  of  Herodotus,  5  of  Xenophon, 
3  Tragedies  of  Sophocles,  and  8  of  Euripides." 

At  the  close  of  the  session  he  obtained  the  first  prize 
in  this  examination,  besides  the  first  in  logic  and  the  fifth 
in  Greek. 

This  is  a  very  formidable  ordeal  through  which  all 
regular  students  of  arts  in  the  University  are  obliged  to 
pass.  Each  student  takes  his  seat  successively,  and  alone, 
on  an  old  arm-chair,  which  has  for  its  bottom  a  smooth 
black  stone  of  unknown  antiquity  and  virtue.  In  the 
case  of  those  who  are  satisfied  with  tlie  minimum,  an 
of&cer  with  a  mace  and  a  sand-glass  standing  by,  calls 
out  "  ad  alium,  Domine,"  when  the  subject  has  been  five 
minutes  under  the  operation,  and  he  is  accordingly  set 
at  liberty,  like  a  sheep  from  the  washing,  to  make  way 
for  the  next.  But  when  the  "mighties"  contend  for 
the  mastery,  a  whole  day  is  set  apart  for  the  conflict, 
and  the  arena  is  crowded  by  anxious  and  interested 
spectators. 

The  scene,  as  it  occurred  on  a  preceding  year,  has  been 
photographed  by  Hamilton's  pen  in  his  usual  style.     In 


44  EMINENT  STUDENTS : 

reviewing  the  memoir  of  James  Halley  (3d  Edition,  1850), 
lie  introduced  the  following  description  : — 

"When  we  arrived  at  Glasgow  College,  more  than 
twenty  years  ago,  the  nom  de  guerre  which  we  heard  in 
its  busy  class-rooms  most  frequent  and  most  formidable 
was  Jacobus  Halley.  We  soon  acquainted  ourselves  with 
the  personal  appearance  of  this  literary  Goliath.  He  was 
a  tall  youth,  with  large  bones,  and  a  light  springy  step. 
He  had  a  high  and  cylindrical  head,  something  like  what 
we  suppose  Sir  Walter  Scott's  must  have  been.  His  hair 
was  light,  inclining  to  red.  He  had  evidently  lost  the 
sight  of  one  eye,  and  often  applied  his  forefinger  to  the 
lid,  as  if  it  were  still  in  pain ;  but  through  the  survivor 
there  streamed  an  animation  sufficient  for  many  ordinary 
eyes ;  and  through  every  pore  of  his  pale  and  etiolated 
countenance  there  radiated  a  penetration  and  alertness 
which  made  him  look  as  if  he  were  seeing  with  all  his 
face.  When  some  hard  question  in  prosody  was  per- 
forming the  circuit  of  the  silent  benches,  the  concentra- 
tion on  that  corner  of  the  class-room  showed  that  the 
hopes  of  the  Ch^cvci  rested  with  this  fair-haired  Person  ; 
and  when  he  rose  to  read  Homer  or  Aristophanes,  the 
long  paragraph  which  Sir  Daniel  allowed  him  to  appro- 
priate, and  the  loud  applause  which  greeted  the  brilliant 
translation,  announced  a  favourite  of  the  Professor,  and  a 
champion  of  tne  students.  We  still  remember  his  Black- 
stone  examination.  It  was  a  day  in  the  dingy  Glasgow 
December,  and  the  great  hall  of  the  library,  with  its 
solemn  folios,  was  made  cheerful  by  a  splendid  fire  ;  and 
round  the  awful  chair,  with  its  sand-glass  suspended  in 


SMITH,  TATT,  H ALLEY.  45 

laurel,  was  congregated  a  huge  ring  of  red-robed  spectators, 
whom  the  heavy  swing  of  the  great  college  bell  was  con- 
stantly augmenting.  Depositing  their  arms — vast  piles 
of  Greek  books — the  challengers  took  their  places.  We 
only  recollect  those  who,  in  Hebrew  phrase,  would  be 
called  the  '  three  mighties.'  And  when,  preceded  by  the 
macer,  and  followed  by  his  learned  colleagues,  in  his 
shining  boots  and  rustling  gown  of  Oxford  silk.  Professor 
Sandford  took  his  place,  it  might  be  seen  in  the  sparkle 
of  his  eye,  and  the  proud  elasticity  of  his  graceful  move- 
ments, that  a  great  contest  was  coming  off.  They  were 
the  happy  days  before  he  tried  to  be  a  statesman,  and  when 
his  favoured  class  enjoyed  the  full  treasures  of  his  accom- 
plished mind,  and  the  fresh  outpourings  of  his  enthusiastic 
eloquence.  The  tournay  commenced  with  one  whose  terse 
renderings,  and  clear  categoric  answers,  bewrayed  the 
mathematical  precision  which  was  soon  to  win  the  senior 
wranglership  at  Cambridge.^  Then  followed  a  scholar 
less  dry,  but  equally  concinnate,  whose  manly  intellect 
,  and  elegant .  erudition  were  destined  to  succeed  Arnold 
at  Eugby,  and  impart  new  dignity  to  the  Deanery  which 
Milner  once  filled  at  Carlisle.^  And  so  fine  and  unfalterino- 
was  the  demonstration  made  by  each,  that  in  common 
years  either  must  have  won  the  prize.  But,  'ad  alium, 
Domine,'  it  still  was  Halley's  turn.  Tripping  nimbly 
forward,  and  depositing  on  the  table  the  learned  heap 
with  whose  contents  his  cool  assured  look  bespoke  a  con- 
fident acquaintance  ;  first  prose,  then  poetry,  he  turned 

W-i  Archibald  Smith,  Esq.  of  Jordan  Hill. 
'  Now  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 


46  CONVIVIAL  PARTIES. 

it  all  into  English,  so  fluent  and  so  happy ;  and  all  hard 
questions  of  syntax  and  archaeology  he  answered  with 
such  an  easy  completeness  that  examiners  and  onlookers 
alike  felt  it  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  scholarship,  and  the 
rapture  with  which  it  was  received  left  no  doubt  regarding 
the  result. 

"This  is  the  student  whose  fame  still  lingers  within 
the  halls  of  his  Alma  Mater,  and  of  whom  a  loving  friend 
has  compiled  the  faithful  memoir  which  suggested  this 
notice."  -^ 

About  the  ISTew  Year,  the  earnest  student  was  drawn 
unwittingly  into  a  scene  of  dissipation,  which  he  neither 
enjoyed  nor  approved.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  submit 
here  the  letter  to  his  sister,  in  M'hich  he  describes  his 
misfortune,  to  show  that  in  the  aristocratic  circles  of 
Glasgow  at  that  time  hospitality  was  sometimes  more 
profuse  than  refined.  The  tendency  in  a  wealthy  com- 
mercial community  is  to  exhibit  in  their  entertainments 
a  sublime  indifference  to  pecuniary  cost;  and  those  among 
them  who  have  adopted  a  different  standard  of  measure-, 
ment  find  it  difficult  to  stem  the  tide  : — 

"Jamiary  1832. 

"  My  dear  Mary, — On  Friday  Jane  and  I  went  to  Mr. 

's  in  the  expectation  of  getting  tea,  as  had  been 

promised,  but  were  a  good  deal  surprised  to  find  instead 
a  ball !     I,  who  could  not  dance,  was  glad  to  be  kept  in 

countenance  by  so  grave  men  as  the  Messrs.  P and 

D.   S .     There   were  at   least   forty   young  people. 

They  got  two  urns  filled  witli  negus  set  in  the  lobby,  and 
1  English  Presbyterian  Messenger,  Feb.  1851. 


EXEECISES  IN  VACATION.  47 

all  were  allowed  to  take  as  much  as  they  chose  ;  one  little 
girl  took  seven  glasses,  and  was  so  ill  that  she  had  to  go 
to  bed.     It  was  near  twelve  before  we  got  home.     Though 

the  room  was  very  hot  we  got  no  cold.     I  saw  Mr.  P 

next  day,  and  he  said  it  was  after  one  before  all  was  over." 

He  expresses  no  opinion  on  the  character  of  the  enter- 
tainment. His  only  interest  in  the  matter  concerned 
the  loss  of  an  evening.  Time  was  his  treasure,  and  he 
mounted  guard  upon  it  with  a  miser's  jealousy. 

The  summer  vacation  of  1832  was  spent  at  home  in 
constant  activity.  His  efforts  seem  to  have  been  equally 
divided  between  the  prosecution  of  his  intellectual  studies 
and  the  cultivation  of  his  own  spiritual  life.  The  journals 
exhibit  as  usual  an  alternation  of  hard  head-work  and 
tender  spiritual  aspirations.  The  dispensation  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  in  his  father's  congregation  is  "  a  well  in  the 
desert."  The  perusal  of  Baxter's  writings  makes  him 
ashamed  of  his  backwardness  in  the  divine  life  :  the 
Sabbath-school  opens  up  to  him  an  unlimited  sphere  of 
activity  and  enjoyment, 

"Sabbath,  July  29th. — This  day  fortnight  I  was  at 
Kippen  Sacrament,  and  I  bless  the  Lord  for  having 
brought  me  there,  for  surely  His  banner  over  me  then  was 
love.  While  seated  at  His  table  my  heart  was  drawn  out 
after  Jesus,  and  melted  at  the  contemplation  of  His  suffer- 
ings. I  felt  an  inexpressible  delight  in  again  surrendering 
myself  to  Him  and  His  service,  and  was  willing  to  do  or 
be  anything  for  His  sake.  I  felt  willing  to  be  with  Him 
even  then — absent  from  the  body,  present  with  the  Lord. 
To  be  in  such  a  frame  always — how  happy !      But  this 


48  PAISLEY  ElOTS. 

treacherous  heart  will  not  be  long  one  way,  especially  in 
the  right  way  ;  and  without  a  constant  administration  of 
grace  from  on  high,  it  is  awful  to  think  to  what  depths  of 
wickedness  it  will  descend. 

"  I  have  much  happiness  in  teaching  the  Sabbath -school 
This  would  be  greatly  increased,  no  doubt,  could  I  satisfy 
myself  that  a  work  of  grace  was  really  going  on  in  the 
souls  of  any  of  the  children.  But  the  beginnings  of  grace 
are  often  imperceptible  to  outward  observation." 

Towards  the  close  of  this  year  we  find  him  again  in 
Glasgow,  attending  the  University  for  the  third  session. 
The  following  letter  is  addressed  to  his  youngest  sister, 
then  a  very  little  child  : — 

**  November  1832. 

"  My  deak  Jane, — T  send  you  this  letter  because  it  will 
contain  nothing  but  what  is  level  to  your  capacity,  and 
which,  at  the  same  time,  will  be  interesting  to  you,  namely, 
the  assurance  that  I  am  quite  well,  and  am  your  most 
affectionate  brother,  James  Hamilton. 

"P.,S'. — There  have  been  sad  riots  in  Paisley  yesterday. 
I  have  seen  no  accounts,  but  have  heard  plenty.  They 
were  attacking  the  doctors,  and  breaking  their  windows. 
No  life  was  lost.  Paisley  will  never  be  my  birthplace 
after  this,  unless  it  mend  its  ways.  J.  H." 

This  was  the  season  of  the  first  outbreak  of  cholera  in 
this  country,  and  the  riots  to  which  he  refers  were  certain 
ebullitions,  partial  and  temporary,  of  the  poor  people,  when 
a  wild  suspicion  for  the  moment  took  possession  of  them 
that  the  doctors  designedly  propagated  the  disease. 


THE  VOLUNTARY  COXTEOYEESY.        49 

"  Saturday,  Fovcniber  10th. — This  has  been  a  ^reek  of 
constant  occupation,  whether  to  the  purpose  is  a  different 
consideration.  If  I  live  to  the  winter's  close,  I  expect  to 
have  many  weeks  of  unremitting  toil.  Thus  it  is  that 
men  labour  for  the  meat  which  perisheth,  and  thus  I 
labour  for  knowledge  which  I  may  speedily  forget,  or  which, 
if  remembered,  I  may  never  have  opportunities  of  turning 
to  account.  But  how  few  thus  labour  for  the  bread  of 
life — how  few  spend  tlieir  days  and  nights  in  seeking  to 
know  God  and  Jesus  whom  He  hath  sent,  and  whom  to 
know  is  everlasting  life  ! 

"  Much  study  is  a  weariness  to  the  bodUy  frame,  and  its 
exhausting  influences  soon  tell  upon  the  mind.  How 
cruel  to  themselves  are  those  men  of  literature  and  science 
who  make  a  working  day  of  the  Sabbath  ! — who  bitterly 
complain  of  the  hardships  of  the  way  in  which  they  travel, 
but  refuse  to  avail  themselves  of  the  rest  and  refreshment 
the  Sabbath  periodically  brings  round — who  are  conscious 
tl\at  they  are  pilgrims  in  a  desert,  but  refuse  to  tiu'n  aside 
to  that  oasis  which  meets  them  at  the  close  of  every  six 
days'  journey." 

TO  HIS  SISTEK. 

"  December  5th,  1S32. 
"  Dr.  Wardlaw  was  to  have  dehvered  a  grand  sermon 
against  Establishments  on  Sabbath  night,  but  studied  so 
hard  during  the  week  that  on  Sabbath  neither  he  nor  the 
sermon  was  forthcoming.  Just  like  some  acquaintances 
of  mine  last  winter  (I  do  not  inchide  myself  in  the  num- 
ber), who  used  to  sit  up  so  late  preparing  for  the  Greek 

D 


50        THE  VOLUNTARY  CONTROVERSY. 

class,  that  they  slept  so  long  in  the  morning  that  the  Greek 
class  had  to  do  without  them. 

"  Dr.  Thomson's  geographical  ladies  are  on  the  increase. 

J.  H." 

The  brief  postscript  refers  to  a  praiseworthy  effort 
made  by  the  late  Dr.  James  Thomson,  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics in  Glasgow,  and  father  of  Sir  William  Thomson, 
who  now  occupies  and  honours  the  Chair  of  Natural  Philo- 
sophy in  the  same  University,  to  extend  the  benefits  of  a 
higher  education  to  the  citizens  generally,  and  especially 
to  the  female  sex.  He  was  the  first  of  our  academic  men 
in  Scotland,  as  far  as  we  know,  who  made  the  attempt ; 
and  it  is  only  now  that  both  in  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow 
his  idea  has  begun  to  be  carried  out  in  a  systematic  man- 
ner, and  on  a  larger  scale. 

The  allusion  in  the  body  of  the  letter,  though  playfully 
expressed,  as  spoken  to  a  child,  points  to  what  was  at  that 
period  a  great  and  keen  ecclesiastical  controversy  in  Scot- 
land. At  that  early  period  the  question  which  has  risen  to 
the  surfaceof  practical  politics  in  our  own  day,  whether  there 
should  be  an  Endowed  and  Established  Church,  was  de- 
bated with  much  earnestness  and  not  a  little  acrimony. 
The  champions  on  both  sides  were  led  at  times  to  take  up 
extreme  positions ;  and  these  excesses  have  impeded  some- 
what the  progress  of  that  review  which  the  great  problem 
is  undergoing  now  ;  but  in  the  main  that  old  battle  did 
much  to  prepare  the  way  for  a  better  era,  which  seems 
now  to  be  dawning  on  the  nation.  In  the  allusion  to 
the  indisposition  which  prevented  Dr.  Wardlaw  from  de- 
livering his  promised  lecture  on  behalf  of  a  Voluntary 


REDEEMING  THE  TIME.  51 

Clmvch,  our  student  betrays  somewhat  of  the  class  pre- 
judice with  which,  at  that  period,  the  zealous  members  of 
the  Establishment  were  tinged.  In  his  circumstances  he 
could  not  but  adopt  the  views  of  those  by  whom  he  was 
immediately  surrounded,  especially  as  his  father  and  the 
godly  circle  of  his  associates  were  all  attached  to  the 
Established  Church.  However,  notwithstanding  the  par- 
tial alienation  which  this  controversy  produced,  young 
Hamilton  cherished  even  then  a  very  high  respect  for  Dr. 
Wardlaw,  and  lived,  as  these  pages  in  the  proper  place 
will  prove,  to  pronounce  the  Church's  common  eulogy 
over  his  grave. 

We  resume  the  journaL 

"Saturday,  Deconhcr  I5t7b,  1S32. — Since  Thursday  last 
week  I  have  every  evening  had  some  engagement  or  other 
— to  a  lecture,  to  a  meeting,  to  dinner,  etc.,  each  occupy- 
ing, I  should  say,  more  than  two  hours  at  an  average,  and, 
with  one  day's  exception,  I  am  similarly  engaged  for  all 
next  week.  Now,  all  this  appears  to  me  quite  wrong.  I 
am  here  at  great  expense  to  my  father,  for  the  avowed 
purpose  of  prosecuting  my  studies  at  College,  and  adding 
to  my  previous  information.  And  for  this  purpose  all  the 
time  I  have  is  short  enough,  after  making  deductions  for 
those  necessary  interruptions  occasioned  by  calls  from 
friends,  letter- writing,  and  a  hundred  other  things.  Now,  if 
I  choose  to  accept  of  every  invitation,  and  at  the  same  time 
am  desirous  to  obtain  a  respectable  standing  in  my  classes, 
I  must  redeem  the  time  thus  squandered  from  what  quar- 
ter I  can  get  it — that  is  to  say,  from  sleep  ;  in  other  words, 
from  health,  for  a  proper  measure  of  sleep  is  as  essential 


52  REDEEMING  THE  TIME. 

to  health  as  time  is  to  study.  I  am  therefore  determined 
to  take  effectual  measures  for  diminishing  these  encroach- 
ments on  my  leisure,  should  I  be  spared  till  after  the  ap- 
proaching holidays.  Once  going  out,  whether  to  breakfast, 
tea,  or  dinner,  is  sufficient  for  one  week.  Since  Monday 
ten  full  hours  have  been  spent  in  College-meetings,  visits, 
etc.  Of  these  at  least  eight  may  be  spared  in  all  time 
coming. 

"  Time  is  a  talent,  and,  with  all  the  rest,  must  be  ac- 
counted for.  If  called  on  to  account  for  the  way  in  which 
each  moment  of  my  time  has  been  employed  to  a  fellow- 
mortal,  how  silly  and  contemptible  would  the  reckoning 
appear  !  What,  then,  must  the  ordinary  employment  of 
them  appear  when  viewed  in  the  light  of  eternity  ? " 

'^January  2,  1833. — During  the  past  year  I  have  read 
thirty-nine  duodecimos,  eighteen  octavos,  and  one  quarto 
— in  all  fifty-eight  volumes.  I  also  wrote  an  abridgment 
of  Boston  on  Fasting,  a  translation  of  Theophrastus,  an 
essay  on  the  Ehetoric  of  Aristotle,  another  on  the  Kule  of 
Faith,  etc." 

A  little  later,  8th  January,  he  writes  to  his  father  : — 
"  This  is  the  best  time  of  the  College — this  and  the  next 
two  months, — when  we  have  a  good  steady  supply  of 
work,  but  not  too  much,  and  few  interruptions."  This 
short  sentence,  we  think,  exhibits  the  hcau-icUal  of  a 
student's  spirit.  Here  is  a  strong  and  healthful  appetite. 
The  "  supply"  he  desires  and  rejoices  in  is  "  a  supply  of 
work."  He  is  supremely  happy  in  the  prospect ;  for,  on 
the  one  hand,  as  the  interruptions  will  be  few,  the  quan- 
tity of  work  will  be  sufficiently  large  ;  and,  on  the  other 


SELF-SEARCHING.  53 

hand,  prudential  considerations,  springing  from  experi- 
ence regarding  his  health,  are  satisfied  by  the  reflection 
that  there  will  not  be  too  much. 

The  summer  vacation  of  1833  was  spent  at  home  in  the 
usual  way.  Few  memorials  of  that  season  remain,  except 
the  inevitable  and  formidable  lists  of  books  read,  and 
hours  daily  occupied,  with  here  and  there  a  hearty  ]3luuge 
either  into  himself  or  into  some  injudicious  visitor  for 
the  loss  of  half  a  day.  Neither  from  letters  nor  journals 
can  any  continuous  narrative  be  constructed  :  but  as  you 
follow  the  track  of  the  student  you  meet  evidences  on 
every  side  of  the  same  constant  and  zealous  labour.  Both 
his  instincts  and  his  adopted  principles  pressed  him  con- 
tinually forward.  Idleness  and  procrastination  were  alien 
alike  to  his  constitution  and  his  convictions.  His  mind 
was  a  bow  always  bent ;  to  be  unstrung  was  to  be  unhappy. 
The  current  of  his  life  was  always  flowing,  never  stagnant, 
never  even  slow. 

Here  and  there,  as  in  the  next  extract,  we  obtain 
glimpses  of  a  conflict  which  Paul  waged  long  ago  between 
two  natures,  a  worse  and  a  better,  an  old  and  a  new,  in 
his  own  breast.  In  this  matter,  however,  the  only  safe 
and  healthy  state  is  a  state  of  active  warfare,  for  victory 
will  not  be  complete  until  the  pilgrimage  is  done. 

"Thursday,  June  Qth,  1833. — On  looking  back  I  see  a 
great  many  things  to  cause  self-abasement.  In  everything 
I  come  short,  but  there  are  some  particular  deficiencies 
with  which  I  feel  myself  especially  chargeable.  One  of 
them  is  a  want  of  candour,  often  attributing  to  the  w^orst 
of  two  motives  particular  actions  of  certain  individuals. 


54  SELF-SEARCHING. 

This  is  a  very  odious  and  siaful  spirit,  and  I  humbly  pray 
that  I  may  be  delivered  from  it  in  time  to  come.  Nearly 
allied  to  this  is  a  censorious  disposition,  commenting  on 
the  faults  of  others,  and  in  frequently  noticing  the  failings 
even  of  the  excellent  of  the  earth,  I  waste  much  invalu- 
able time;  the  consequence  of  which  is  that  I  do  not 
make  that  progress  in  learning  that  I  ought,  do  little  good, 
and  leave  to  the  last  things  of  high  importance.  By  fre- 
quently lying  so  long  in  bed  in  the  morning  I  leave 
myself  little  time  for  reading  the  Bible,  and  am  hurried 
in  devotion.  Often  listless  and  unengaged  in  family  and 
public  worship.  I  have  again  and  again  found  myself 
more  willing  to  pass  by  a  wrong  thing  in  another,  as  if  I 
had  not  observed  it,  than  incur  the  bad  opinion  or  ill-will 
of  man  by  standing  up  for  the  honour  of  God — as  if  the 
good  opinion  of  man  were  better  than  the  favour  of  God. 

0  Lord,  lay  not  these  sins  to  my  charge.     Against  these 

1  would  especially  watch  and  strive  in  the  time  to  come, 
by  the  aid  of  Divine  grace." 

"  Sabbath,  August  11, 1833. — In  reading  Henry  Martyn's 
Memoirs,  the  sacrifices  he  made  that  he  miglit  do  good  to 
souls  could  not  fail  to  press  upon  me  a  painful  and  troub- 
ling sense  of  the  little  good  that  I  have  done,  and  the  little 
labour  which  I  have  undergone  in  the  cause  of  God.  Oh 
for  that  spirit  by  which  he  was  actuated,  or  rather,  that 
that  mind  which  was  in  Christ  may  be  also  in  me  !  Then 
will  I  overcome  this  fear  of  man,  which  has  hitherto  proved 
to  me  such  a  snare,  and  kept  me  silent  and  inactive  when 
I  should  have  been  zealous  fur  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  Then 
will  no  sacrifice — nothing  in  the  way  of  performance  so 


CLASS  OF  NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  55 

difficult,  or  of  endurance  so  painful — cause  me  for  a  moment 
to  hesitate  when  the  salvation  of  souls  is  at  stake.  I 
have  this  day  been  thinking  that  I  may  find  it  my  duty 
to  go  and  preach  the  gospel  to  the  heathen.  Before  I  can 
do  so — and  if  I  see  a  call  of  God  to  do  so,  I  trust  I  shall — 
what  self-denial  will  be  needful !  What  a  missionary  I 
would  make  at  present — with  a  mind  so  filled  *with  schemes 
about  academic  distinction,  so  vain  and  earthly  in  all  its 
tendencies,  so  apt  to  be  dismayed  by  every  discouraging 
circumstance !" 

In  the  beginning  of  November,  braced  up  in  health 
as  well  as  furnished  in  mind,  the  student  betook  himself 
once  more  to  his  philosophical  studies  in  Glasgow. 

In  the  fourth  and  last  year  of  their  undergraduate 
course,  students  at  the  University  of  Glasgow  attend  what 
is  called  the  Natural  Philosophy  class.  Like  most  of  the 
other  classes,  it  meets  twice  a  day ;  the  first  hour  is  occu- 
pied with  prelections  by  the  Professor,  and  the  second 
with  a  public  examination  of  the  students  on  subjects 
which  have  been  previously  explained.  It  is  a  course 
of  applied  mathematics,  ranging  over  mechanics,  optics, 
electricity,  and  other  departments  of  physics.  The  class 
was  at  that  time  competently  conducted  by  the  late  Mr, 
Meikleham.  The  examinations  were  oral  and  public ; 
each  student  answered  in  presence  of  all  his  peers.  This 
system,  combined  with  the  practice  of  awarding  prizes  at 
the  close  of  the  session  by  the  majority  of  votes,  proved, 
under  a  competent  master,  eminently  successful.  It  pro- 
duced in  the  pupils  a  healthful,  well-sustained  enthusiasm. 

As  the  students  entered  the  class  with  various  measures 


56  MATHEMATICAL  FEAT. 

of  mathematical  acquirements,  the  Professor  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  session  gauged  the  capacity  of  each,  and 
ever  afterwards  took  care  to  accommodate  the  depth  of 
his  question  to  the  depth  of  the  scholar's  attainments. 
Some  were  permitted,  when  their  turn  came  round,  to 
answer  respectably  a  simple  interrogatory  regarding  the 
more  obvious  physical  laws,  while  another  was  permitted 
to  perform  a  solo  with  chalk  on  a  blackboard  among 
the  intricacies  of  algebraic  formularies.  On  these  occa- 
sions, human  nature,  instead  of  being  dammed  up,  was 
permitted  freely  to  flow,  and  the  stream  did  yeoman 
service  in  driving  round  the  educational  machinery.  When 
the  Professor  had  chosen  his  man,  and  the  chosen  man, 
justifying  his  teacher's  confidence,  had  tunnelled  through 
his  mountain,  and  emerged,  chalk  in  hand  and  blush  on 
countenance,  on  the  other  side,  then  the  old  man's  eye 
glistened  in  liquid  delight,  and  his  formal  "  Silence,  gen- 
tlemen," was  manifestly  not  meant  to  check,  far  less  to 
extinguish,  the  rapturous  applause  with  which  the  roof  was 
by  this  time  ringing.  In  such  scfenes,  and  by  such  methods, 
a  generous  rivalry  was  stimulated,  and  ordinarily  those 
men  who  strove  hardest  for  the  mastery  in  the  class  were 
sworn  friends  ever  after  on  the  wide  stage  of  the  world. 

A  surviving  fellow- student  delights  to  tell  how  the  Pro- 
fessor on  one  occasion  called  up  Hamilton  to  demonstrate 
the  proposition  from  Newton's  Princvpia,  Book  i.  sect.  3, 
that  "if  a  body  revolve  in  an  ellipse,  the  force  tending 
to  the  focus  of  the  ellipse  varies  inversely  as  the  square  of 
the  distance,"  and  how  he  performed  his  task  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  fill  the  face  of  the  venerable  but  ruddy  philo- 


DR.  JOHN  CUNNINGHAM.  57 

sopher  witli  beaming  delight,  and  draw  forth  from  the 
youthful  audience  a  louder  and  more  articulate  satisfaction. 
Nor  is  the  narrator  an  incompetent  judge  of  prowess  in 
these  recondite  matters.  He  is  Dr.  John  Cunningham,  a 
man  of  prodigious  mathematical  faculties  and  attainments, 
a  Christian  of  the  same  type  and  section  of  the  Church 
with  the  late  Michael  Faraday,  and,  like  hini,  uniting  the 
most  retiring  and  modest  sunplicity  of  character  with  the 
highest  scientific  acquisitions.  This  man,  now  venerable 
in  years  and  aspect,  has  devoted  his  life  as  a  missionary 
to  the  Jews  in  London.  A  philosopher  who  might  have 
coped  with  any  of  his  contemporaries  in  plying  the  calculus 
which  extorts  ft-om  Nature  her  secrets,  treads  the  dark 
narrow  lanes,  and  climbs  the  dark  narrow  stairs,  of  the 
metropolis,  seeking  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel. 
There  he  labours,  sowing  good  seed  on  beaten  way-sides, 
contented  to  follow  his  Master's  footsteps  where  he  is  not 
"  seen  of  men."-^  John  Cunningham  cherished  a  fond 
friendship  for  his  fellow- student  while  he  lived,  and  sur- 
vives to  lament  his  comparatively  early  removal. 

There  is  not  much  of  permanent  interest  in  the  letters 
and  journals  of  this  session.  A  few  brief  extracts  are  sub- 
joined. 

1  Some  years  since  I  had  occasion  to  meet  a  Wesleyan  missionary  from  the 
Fiji  Islands,  on  leave  of  absence  in  England  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  and 
was  much  interested  in  learning  that  he  was  the  brother  of  Mr.  Adams  the 
astronomer,  who,  simultaneously  with  Leverrier,  but  independently,  discovered 
the  planet  Neptune.  How  diverse  on  the  surface,  and  yet  how  closely  con- 
nected in  the  deep,  were  the  positions  and  occupations  of  the  two  brothers  ! 
One,  in  the  central  home  of  British  science,  measuring  out  the  heavens,  and 
determining  where  an  unseen  planet  must  be  rolling ;  the  other  on  a  small 
speck  of  earth  standing  out  from  the  surface  of  the  southern  ocean,  labouring 
to  win  some  degraded  savages  to  Clirist.  Sublime  occupations  both !  Par 
nobile  fratrum  / 


58  DE.  HANNA. 

"December  13th,  1833. 

"  My  dear  Mary, — I  am  glad  that  the  book  of  travels 
gives  satisfaction.  By  reading  such  books,  taking  care  to 
follow  the  route  of  the  traveller  on  a  map,  you  may  soon 
come  to  have  a  good  knowledge  of  the  geography  of 
different  countries,  along  with  a  great  deal  of  information 
besides  which  it  is  desirable  to  possess.  It  is  no  waste  of 
time  to  read  good  voyages  and  travels,  the  lives  of  great 
men,  and  works  of  history.  I  think  now  that  if  I  could 
manage  it  I  would  read  a  multitude  of  such  books,  and 
regret  having  read  so  few  when  I  had  better  opportunities. 
This  winter  I  do  not  expect  to  have  one  hour  for  such 
purposes,  nor  can  I  well  anticipate  the  time  when  I  shall 
have  sufficient  leisure  to  acquire  much  of  wliat  I  am  horri- 
,fied  at  the  idea  of  wanting — general  knowledge.  I  there- 
fore consider  myself  entitled  to  prescribe  to  you  what  I 
have  myself  failed  in,  in  the  same  way  that  a  condemned 
criminal  may  exhort  others  to  take  warning  from  his  fate." 

"  Sahbath,  March  9,  1834. — I  went  to  hear  Dr.  Cooke  of 
Belfast  with  my  dear  friend  Hanna  this  evening.  He 
goes  home  to-morrow.  The  Lord  watch  between  him  and 
me  when  we  are  parted  from  one  another !  1  felt  that  I 
have  been  much  the  better  for  his  conversation  during 
the  short  intervals  that  we  have  been  together  during 
these  few  days.  He  has  the  right  views  of  what  a 
minister  should  do  and  be.  AVould  that  there  were  many 
such !" 

The  friendship  thus  begun  continued  unbroken  to  the 
last,  and  Dr.  Hanna  survives  to  mourn  with  us  the  absence 
of  a  precious  member  from  the  ever  lessening  circle  of 


HIS  POLITICAL  CREED.  59 

kindred  spirits  that  gravitated  towards  each  other  by  the 
force  of  common  aspirations  in  those  early  days. 

"  I6th  April  1834. 

"  My  dear  Fathee,— Friday  is  a  holiday,  but  I  must 
stay  in  town,  comforting  myself  with  the  prospect  that  a 
fortnight  will  bring  me  home  for  altogether.     I  have  got 
an  addition  to  my  library— a  very  beautiful  copy  of  Magee 
on  the  Atonement.     It  is  a  present  from  the  students,  and 
from  the  inscription  having  something  about  '  zeal  for  the 
best  interests  of  the  University,'  I  suppose  it  is  given  for 
the  same  reason  for  which  Dr.  Fleming  and  others  would 
say  it  should  have  been  withheld.     My  conscience  does 
not  reproach  me  for  the  manner  in  which  I  have  exercised 
my  rights  as  a  member  of  Glasgow  University.     If  poli- 
tical principles  be  hereditary,  I  apprehend  mine  ought  to 
be  comprehended  in  this— 1.  What  is  right  is  the  true 
expediency  ;  2.  The  real  rights  and  interests  of  the  many 
should  be  preferred  to  the  alleged  interests  of  the  few. 
Whether  this  be  Whiggism,  or  whatever  it  be,  I  am  not 
conscious  of  having  done  anything  contrary  to  it  in  these 
matters.     And  though  I  was  always  aware,  and  am  now 
more  than  ever,  that  this  was  not  the  way  to  secure  the 
favour  of  Professors,  I  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  there  is  more  honesty,  kind-heartedness,  and  talent 
among  the  twenty-four  names   attached  to  this  present 
than  are  to  be  found  in  the  majority  of  the  faculty." 

The  preceding  letter  alludes  to  the  lively  contest  be- 
tween the  Liberal  and  Conservative  parties,  which  termi- 
nated in  the  election  of  the  late  Lord  Cockburn,  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Session,  as  Lord  Kector  of  the 


60  TESTIMONIAL  FROM  FELLOW-STUDENTS. 

College,  It  is  quite  refreshing  to  hear  the  clear,  frank 
confession  of  a  Liberal  faith  in  the  sphere  of  temporal 
politics,  from  the  lips  of  this  grave  and  studious  youth. 
Nor  is  it  merely  an  adherence  to  a  party  through  heredi- 
tary prejudice.  It  is  manifestly  a  matter  of  the  judgment, 
and  based  upon  what  he  considered  the  right  and  the  true. 
So  effectively  had  Hamilton  led  the  Liberal  phalanx  in 
that  campaign  that  the  victors  resolved  to  express  and 
record  their  satisfaction  by  a  united  and  formal  presenta- 
tion. The  inscription,  with  its  list  of  appended  names,  is 
subjoined.  The  principles  that  were  then  dwelling  in  the 
breasts  of  generous  youths  have  since  that  time  told  effec- 
tively in  various  places  and  in  various  spheres. 

There  is  scarcely  any  species  of  certificate  on  which  we 
should  be  inclined  to  set  a  higher  value  than  the  spon- 
taneous and  enthusiastic  acclaim  of  his  fellow-students. 

"  College  of  Glasgow,  1834. 
"  Presented  by  '  tlie  Cockbum  Committee '  to  Mr.  James  Hamilton, 
the  son  of  a  most  learned,  upright,  and  pious  father,  in  testimony  of 
their  high  sense  of  his  distinguished  talents,  profound  erudition,  inde- 
fatigable industry,  stern  integrity,  and  honest  independent  zeal  for  the 
best  interests  of  the  University. 

Robert  Walter  Stewart,  M,A.  William  Park,  M.A. 

John  Craufurd,  Med.  Thomas  Dymock,  M.A, 

Alexander  P.  Stewart,  do.  Thomas  Thomson,  Arts. 

James  Davidson,  Arts,  David  Stewart,  Arts. 

Colin  Campbell,  Jun.  Joseph  Compton,  Arts. 

William  H.  Graham,  Arts.  George  B.  MoncriefF,  do. 

David  Thomson,  do.  William  J.  Unwin,  B.A. 

W .  Urquhart,  do.  John  M.  Douglas,  Arts, 

H.  W.  Nesbitt,  Med,  Alexander  P.  Forbes,  Arts, 

Adam  Roxburgh,  Theol.  Michael  Connal,  do. 

John  S,  Wardlaw,  George  Pt.  Kenedy,  Theol. 

James  Halley,  A.B,  Alexander  Gardiner,  A.M," 


CONFLICTS  BETWEEN  PROFESSORS  AND  STUDENTS.  61 

Conflicts  on  various  subjects  between  the  students  and 
the  Professors  were  of  frequent  occurrence  in  those  days, 
and  constituted  interesting  episodes  in  the  otherwise  dull 
routine  of  College  life.  They  have  long  passed  away,  and 
it  is  not  necessary  to  revive  them.  Suffice  it  to  remark, 
generally,  that  liberal  ideas  on  many  subjects  were  invad- 
ing the  monkish  cloisters,  and  ordinarily  .the  students 
caught  the  spirit  of  the  age  somewhat  earlier  than  their 
seniors.  Hence  some  smart  skirmishes  between  the  more 
advanced  and  more  liberal-minded  students  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  dignified  Conservative  heads  of  the  Senatus 
on  the  other — not  on  points  of  theology  or  philosophy,  but 
on  certain  practical  matters  of  administration.  In  short, 
some  wavelets  from  the  great  storm  that  raged  outside 
between  those  who  demanded  reform  and  those  who  re- 
sisted it,  had  leapt  over  the  dark  battlements  of  the  ancient 
University,  and  raised  an  unwonted  commotion  in  its 
hitherto  still,  if  not  stagnant,  waters. 

On  one  occasion  about  this  period  the  collision  be- 
tween the  progress  of  Liberal  ideas  among  the  students, 
and  the  Conservative  tendencies  of  the  Senatus,  went 
so  far  as  to  threaten  danger  to  the  discipline  of  the  Uni- 
versity. The  students  plied  the  Senatus  with  "memo- 
rials," and  the  Senatus  launched  forth  "minutes"  against 
the  students,  until  the  duel  assumed  ominous  propor- 
tions. Threats  of  expulsion  were  introduced,  not  very 
skilfully,  into  the  minutes.  These  were  repaid  with 
interest  by  memorials,  drawn  up  in  a  phraseology  of  con- 
ventional respectfulness  which  was  not  meant  to  conceal, 


62  CHOICE  OF  PROFESSION. 

as  one  of  the  remonstrants  characterized  it,  "  an  under- 
current of  contempt." 

The  commonplace  observation,  it  may  be  franldy  con- 
fessed, was  true  of  those  wars, — there  were  faults  on  both 
sides.  The  students  were  too  bold  and  self-confident,  but 
tlie  Professors  lacked  the  wisdom  and  generosity  that 
would  have  directed,  instead  of  merely  repressing,  the 
impetuosity  of  youth. 

Another  summer  vacation  passes  without  change  of 
methods,  and  it  may  therefore  be  left  without  a  record. 
Next  session  he  entered  the  classes  of  theology.  He  does 
not  signalize  this  stage  of  his  progress  by  any  permanent 
notice  in  either  letters  or  journals.  The  obvious  reason 
of  this  reticence  is,  that  the  choice  of  his  profession  had 
been  decidedly  made  long  before.  He  did  not  need  to 
consider,  at  the  close  of  his  undergraduate  course,  what 
direction  should  be  given  to  his  studies  in  the  next  stage 
of  his  progress.  The  choice  of  his  sphere  and  work  was 
made  at  a  very  tender  age,  and  it  was  made  with  a  com- 
plete intelligence.  I  have  never  known  any  one  more 
constantly  and  thoroughly  dedicated  to  the  Lord's  service, 
like  Samuel,  from  his  birth,  in  his  childhood,  and  in  his 
mature  age.  The  vows  of  his  father,  uttered  before  his 
birth,  were  fondly  accepted  by  himself  as  soon  as  his 
understanding  opened.  His  father's  judgment  became  his 
own ;  and  at  no  subsequent  period  did  he  ever  manifest 
any  tendency  either  to  reverse  the  decision  he  had  formed, 
or  to  regret  the  step  he  had  taken.  His  heart  was  all  in 
it,  and  always  in  it. 

If,  a  few  years  after  this  date,  and  immediately  before  he 


PROFESSORS  OF  THEOLOGY.  63 

was  called  to  the  ministry,  lie  experienced  some  desires  to 
devote  himself  to  botany,  and  relative  literature,  there 
was  still  no  dubiety  as  to  the  aim  of  his  life.  With  his 
tastes  and  acquirements  in  natural  science  on  the  one 
side,  and  his  physical  constitution,  feeble  in  those  organs 
on  which  a  preacher  must  mainly  rely,  on  the  other,  it  is 
not  wonderful  that  he  should  have  entertaiiled  the  ques- 
tion as  to  the  position  in  which  his  talents  might  be  best 
laid  out  in  the  service  of  God ;  but  whatever  amount  of 
debate  was  admitted  at  any  time,  it  was  a  debate  as  to 
means,  and  not  as  to  end.  He  was  bought  with  a  price, 
and  he  was  bent  on  glorifying  the  Lord  that  bought  him. 
The  only  inquiry  he  made  at  any  stage  was.  How  and 
where  may  the  talents  intrusted  to  me  be  most  profitably 
expended  in  my  Master's  cause  ? 

In  some  of  the  theological  classes  of  the  University  at 
that  time  a  beneficial  influence  was  exerted  upon  the 
students,  but  in  others,  if  the  young  men  did  not  educate 
themselves,  they  fared  the  worse.  In  some  cases  patron- 
age had  filled  a  chair  in  accordance  with  some  obscure 
private  connexions,  in  flagrant  defiance  alike  of  the  public 
opinion  and  the  public  good.  A  person  endued  with  a 
perennial  childishness,  not  very  many  degrees  above  abso- 
lute imbecility,  might,  if  he  gained  the  patron's  favour,  be 
placed  in  a  chair  in  which  he  should  doze  and  vegetate 
for  half  a  century,  to  the  unspeakable  injury  of  two  gene- 
rations. In  those  days  there  was  neither  security  for  a 
right  appointment  at  first,  nor  provision  for  retirement 
when  age  and  infirmity  had  done  their  work.  The  aged 
incumbent  must  live,  although  the  students  should  be  left 


64  COMPENSATIONS. 

to  take  care  of  themselves.  But  in  Providence  compensa- 
tions come  up  in  a  wonderful  manner,  when  and  where 
they  are  most  wanted.  The  particular  form  in  which  these 
preserving  and  healing  powers  of  nature  appeared  in  the 
College  of  Glasgow  when  James  Hamilton  studied  theo- 
logy there,  was  a  liberal,  earnest,  patriotic  spirit,  diffused 
in  large  measure  among  the  students.  If  they  shivered 
sometimes  when  condemned  to  sit  out  their  hour  on  the 
benches  of  the  class-room,  they  kept  themselves  warm  by 
combining  together  both  for  mental  discipline  and  spiritual 
health.  To  the  theological  societies  and  the  missionary 
meetings  of  those  days  the  memory  of  many  men  now 
scattered  over  the  world  in  the  service  of  the  gospel  still 
fondly  reverts,  as  to  springs  of  water  in  a  dry  place.  By 
means  of  earnest  and  able  teachers  in  departments  where 
such  held  office,  or  in  spite  of  a  teaching  that  was  cold 
or  incompetent  where  that  obstacle  unfortunately  stood 
in  the  way,  many  of  the  students  that  passed  through  the 
Hall  in  line  with  Hamilton,  have,  through  God's  good 
hand  upon  them,  reached  and  held  important  positions  in 
the  Christian  Church. 

His  younger  brother  having  this  year  entered  the  Uni- 
versity, he  writes  to  his  sister  : — 

"iVor.  5(h,  1834. 

"  ]My  dear  Mary, —  .  .  .  William  is  enjoying  the  Latin 
very  much, — as  much  as  I  enjoy  the  chemistry.  .  .  . 
Dr.  IVI'Turk  gave  his  first  lecture  yesterday,  and,  like  my 
neighbours,  I  had  pen  and  ink  ready  for  taking  notes, 
but  as  nothing  notable  occurred  most  of  us  saved  our 
paper,  but  I  did  not  see  anybody  sleeping.     Dr.  M'GHl's 


WILLIAM  BURNS.  65 

lectures  make  amends,  and  if  his  future  lectures  be 
equal  to  the  two  wliich  I  have  heard,  I  shall  never  bear 
to  hear  any  one  speak  disparagingly  of  them.  William 
Burns,  of  Kilsyth,  is  in  the  Hall  with  me,  so  are  a 
good  many  of  last  year's  acquaintances,  some  strangers 
too." 

The  allusion  to  William  Burns,  singled  'out  from  all 
the  rest,  and  named  as  his  class-fellow,  in  the  light  of 
subsequent  events  seems  almost  prophetic.  It  is  alto- 
gether prophetic  in  the  best  sense ;  for  that  deep  coiigruity 
of  spirit  which  drew  these  two  together  in  their  youth, 
continued  in  force,  and  in  due  time  knit  them  into  a  pair, 
one  at  home  and  another  abroad,  in  the  mission  work. 
United  thus  by  one  spirit  in  early  life,  in  their  death,  as 
we  shall  find  in  the  course  of  our  narrative,  they  were  not 
divided. 

"  Glasgow,  Xov.  28,  1834. 

"  My  dear  Jane, — Yesterday,  you  know,  was  my  birth- 
day, and  I  lay  awake  a  long  while,  scarcely  believing  that 
I  could  be  twenty  years  of  age.  And  I  have  just  been 
thinking  that  in  these  twenty  years  moi'o  time  has  been 
wasted  than  ]\Iilton  took  to  compose  Paradise  Lost,  or 
Newton  to  write  the  Principia.  If  you  be  a  good  arith- 
metician, you  may  perhaps  get  on  to  learn  mathematics, 
and  then  you  will  be  able,  like  Mrs.  Somerville,  to  under- 
stand the  Princijpia,  which  is  more  perhaps  than  other 
three  ladies  in  England  do.  .  .  . 

"  Edward  Irving  has  been  in  town  for  more  than  a  month, 
meeting  with  a  few  people  in  the  Lyceum  Eooms  every 
Sabbath.     I  believe  he  performs  very  little  of  the  service 

E 


G6  EDWARD  IRVING. 

himself,  merely  addressing  the  congregation  in  a  few 
words  before  the  close.  His  health  is  bad.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  his  lungs  are  diseased.  Three  Sabbaths  ago  I 
met  him  riding  in  the  High  Street,  being  the  first  time 
that  I  have  seen  him  since  he  used  to  play  with  me  in 
the  old  manse  of  Strathblane.  He  has  seen  changes  since 
that  time,  and  has  made  the  sad  descent  from  the  highest 
popularity  to  the  deepest  obscurity." 

A  casual  meeting  for  a  moment  between  Edward  Irving 
and  James  Hamilton,  as  two  atoms  meet  in  the  air,  then 
pass,  and  never  meet  again !  History  wiU  connect  both 
with  the  National  Scotch  Church  in  London.  How  like, 
and  yet  how  diverse  !  In  the  one,  piety,  genius,  power, 
all  wrecked  by  a  wayward  spirit,  and  an  enthusiasm 
which  mightily  impelled,  without  a  sober  judgment  to 
direct;  in  the  other,  piety,  genius,  and  a  Christ-like 
meekness,  which  did  more  execution  upon  the  enemies 
of  God  and  man  than  any  giant-champion  who  might 
make  the  battle-ground  shake  beneath  his  feet.  "When  the 
engine  slips  off  the  rails,  the  skilfulness  of  its  structure 
and  the  force  of  its  fire  avail  it  nothing. 

As  a  student,  James  Hamilton  was  as  blithe  and  dis- 
cursive as  a  butterfly,  but  as  busy  and  successful  as  a  bee. 
His  learning  was  spread  wide,  but  it  was  not  therefore 
spread  thin.  While  he  was  engaged  in  the  professional 
study  of  theology,  he  contrived  to  carry  on  always  some 
under-plot  without  marring  his  main  pursuit.  Of  his 
subsidiary  studies,  botany,  natural  history,  and  chemistry 
were  the  chief.     Eotany  was  a  life-long  recreation,  but 


THE  CHEMISTRY  CLASS.  67 

in  this  year,  and  during  the  currency  of  his  theological 
course,  he  made  an  earnest  and  not  unsuccessful  inroad 
on  the  domain  of  chemistry.  A  class-room,  in  the  form 
and  of  the  dimensions  of  a  small  theatre,  had  been  built 
beyond  the  walls  of  the  College,  to  accommodate  the 
nimibers  who  flocked  to  the  study  of  chemistry  under  the 
late  eminent  Professor  Dr.  Thomas  Thomson.  I  remem- 
ber well  a  pilgrimage  made  by  a  few  students  from  the 
Divinity  Hall  at  the  close  of  the  session  to  the  chemistry 
class-room,  where  our  sectional  pride  was  abundantly 
gratified  by  hearing  Hamilton  called  to  receive  the  first 
prize  in  a  class  of  several  hundreds  engaged  profes- 
sionally in  the  study  of  medicine.  In  great  glee  we 
marched  along  College  Street  to  see  Hamilton  "  beat  the 
medicals." 

It  is  right,  and  may  be  useful  to  mention  here,  that 
while  he  was  indebted  for  success  in  these  sciences  to  his 
own  intellectual  aptitude  and  his  persevering  zeal,  he  was 
indebted,  under  Providence,  for  the  opportunity  to  a 
moderate  patrimony,  which  relieved  him  wholly  from  the 
necessity  of  working  for  his  bread.  "While  Hamilton  was 
thus  enabled  to  enrich  his  mind,  and  lay  in  precious 
stores  for  future  use,  James  Halley,  and  other  companions 
and  contemporaries  less  gifted,  were  obliged  to  toil  four 
or  five  hours  every  day  grinding  juniors,  in  order  to  pro- 
cure the  means  of  attending  the  University  themselves. 
Very  little  provision  was  made  in  those  days  for  assisting 
students  who  might  have  shown  themselves  worthy  of 
being  assisted.  For  the  most  part  the  bursaries  that 
existed  were  at  the   disposal   of  patrons  who  admitted 


G8  BUESAIIIES. — IHE  ILLNESS 

no  influence  except  that  of  private  partialities.  Better 
days  have  come  for  Scottish  students.  A  great  number 
of  bursaries  have  been  instituted  since  that  date,  almost 
all  open  to  public  competition.  Of  late  years  not  a  few- 
princely  gifts  have  been  bestowed  or  bequeathed  by 
patriotic  private  citizens,  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging 
learning  in  connexion  with  the  Scotch  Universities.  Al- 
though few  and  feeble  in  comparison  with  the  rich  founda- 
tions of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  some  endowed  scholarships 
are  now  in  full  operation,  especially  in  Edinburgh,  which 
enable  young  men  of  intellect  and  energy  to  prosecute 
their  studies  somewhat  beyond  the  period  of  the  ordinary 
curriculum,  without  the  necessity  of  toiling  all  the  time 
for  daily  bread. 

This  session  was  suddenly  and  prematurely  closed  on 
the  16th  of  April,  by  the  heaviest  stroke  that  had  ever 
fallen  on  his  head — the  death  of  his  father.  On  the  5th, 
eleven  days  before  his  decease,  he  preached  a  public  ser- 
mon in  St.  David's  Church,  Glasgow.  It  so  happened 
that  on  that  occasion  I  saw  and  heard  the  minister  of 
Strathblane  for  the  first  and  last  time.  I  remember  well 
both  his  figure  and  fervent  manner  as  he  preached.  He 
gave  me  the  impression  of  the  Baptist  preparing  the  way 
of  the  Lord,  with  none  of  the  Baptist's  sternness.  I  stood 
in  awe  before  him,  but  it  was  the  awe  inspired  by  the 
tenderness  of  a  messenger  who  besought  ns  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  God.  From  want  of  vigour  in  the  chest,  his  voice 
was  not  well  under  control, — indeed  the  power  of  his 
preaching  owed  little  to  the  instrument  by  wdiich  the 
message   was    articulated.      It  was    not    the    measured 


AND  DEATH  OF  HIS  FATHER.  69 

cadence  of  a  cultivated  orator  that  carried  you  away,  it 
was  tlie  holy  elevated  earnestness  of  the  man  that  made 
a  listener's  heart  burn  within  him,  in  spite  of  defective 
vocal  modulations, 

James  spent  some  hours  with  his  father  that  evening 
in  Glasgow,  in  animated  conversation  on  the  themes  which 
parent  and  child  relished  in  common — the  things  that 
concerned  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  next  morning  saw 
him  off  by  the  stage  to  Strathblane.  It  was  the  last 
meeting  of  these  two,  who  had  been  very  lovely  in  their 
lives.  He  preached  in  his  own  church  on  the  following 
Sabbath,  was  taken  ill  on  Monday,  and,  after  a  very  short 
illness,  gently  passed  away. 

The  great  bereavement  was  simply  and  briefly  announced 
in  a  letter  to  his  uncle,  the  publisher  in  London,  the  first 
of  a  long  series  affectionately  written  by  the  nephew,  and 
affectionately  preserved  by  the  uncle,  which  will  afford  us 
important  aid  at  every  stage  of  our  narrative,  even  to  its 
close. 

"Strathblane,  Ap7-il  I7th,  1835. 

"  My  deak  Uncle, — On  Monday  my  dear  father  com- 
plained that  he  felt  unwell,  and  at  tea-time  was  seized 
with  a  shivering  fit,  and  persuaded  to  go  to  bed.  It 
seemed  at  first  to  be  merely  a  cold,  and  no  danger  was  at 
all  apprehended, — so  much  so  that  I  was  not  sent  for  from 
town ;  but  he  had  a  worse  night  on  Wednesday,  and  yes- 
terday morning  my  mother  sent  to  town  for  Dr.  Eainy. 
About  mid-day  yesterday  it  was  evident  that  his  strength 
was  giving  way,  and  when  Dr.  Eainy  arrived  at  ten  in  the 
evening,  he  found  him  so  low  that  he  had  no  hope  of  his 


70        THE  DEATH  OF  HIS  FATHER,  AND 

recovery.  His  throat,  which  had  been  much  inflamed, 
had  now  become  greatly  suppurated.  He  only  lingered 
till  midnight,  and  then  his  prepared  spirit  winged  its 
flight  to  that  heaven  which  had  so  long  been  its  home. 
Oh,  my  dear  uncle,  you  know  how  unsearchable  are  His 
ways,  and  this  is  one  of  them.  Mamma  was  dreadfully 
agitated  last  night,  but  is  more  composed  to-day.  It  was 
only  this  morning,  when  Dr.  Eainy  returned  to  town,  that 
I  heard  that  my  father  was  so  ill,  and  that  he  was  gone. 
I  am  not  able  to  give  more  particulars  at  present,  but  his 
mind  was  happy,  happy. 

"  Pray  for  us,  and  God  bless  you,  my  dear  uncle. — 
Your  affectionate  nephew,  James  Hamilton." 

It  will  be  convenient  to  introduce  here  an  extract  on 
the  same  subject  from  liis  journal,  although  it  is  dated  at 
Easterhouse  in  the  beginning  of  the  following  year : — 

"  What  have  I  been  called  to  see  and  feel  since  I  made 
my  last  entry  in  this  journal !  Since  then  I  have  ex- 
perienced at  least  one  dangerous  illness,  have  lost  a  father 
such  as  few  had  to  lose,  and  I,  and  those  who  are  dearest 
to  me,  Lave  gone  from  a  home  which  we  loved,  and  where 
we  almost  dreamed  that  we  were  to  abide  for  ever,  to 
sojourn  in  what  we  may  truly  call  a  stranger-land.  Last 
winter  was  almost  entirely  given  up  to  the  acquisition  of 
human  knowledge,  and  the  pursuits  of  literary  distinction. 
There  was  every  appearance  that  my  wishes  would  be 
gratified.  On  Thursday,  the  IGth  of  April,  having  just 
completed  an  essay  which  I  expected  would  gain  a  prize, 
and  as  the  day  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  days  that 


REFLECTIONS  ON  THAT  EVENT.         71 

ever  lighted  up  the  spring,  I  wandered  four  or  five  miles 
up  the  Clyde  in  search  of  plants.  Little  did  I  imagine, 
as  I  looked  forward  to  my  return  home,  which  another 
fortnight  would  bring  about,  and  laid  schemes  of  employ- 
ment and  recreation  for  the  summer,  and  thought  of  the 
possible  gratification  which  might  be  occasioned  to  those 
I  most  fondly  loved  by  a  successful  termination  of  the 
winter's  toils, — little  did  I  imagine  that  at  that  very  hour 
the  hand  of  death  was  on  the  object  of  my  warmest  affec- 
tions, and  that  next  day  I  should  be  called  to  a  desolate 
home,  to  fin/1  my  mother  broken-hearted,  my  brothers 
and  sisters  ail  sick  of  an  alarming  malady,  and  my  father's 
lifeless  rem  Ains.  In  a  few  days  I  myself  was  taken  ill 
with  sore  tAroat  also ;  and  as  if  to  pour  contempt  on  all 
my  pride,,  when  the  1st  of  May  arrived,  my  medal  and 
my  prize-  books  came  in  the  evening,  and  found  me  in  bed, 
scarcely  begun  to  recover.  After  such  an  admonition  I 
would  be  more  brutish  than  any  man  if  I  did  not  regard 
this  wr/rld's  honours  and  pleasures  as  vanity.  The  warn- 
ing, I  'irust,  has  not  been  altogether  in  vain.  I  now  feel 
alarmed  when  mere  secular  studies  are  beginning  to 
occupy  the  place  which  God  claims  for  Himself  0  that 
He  were  more  constantly  and  indisputably  supreme  in 
my  affections  !  Till  His  throne  be  established  here,  if  He 
has  purposes  of  mercy  towards  me.  He  will  visit  my  back- 
slidings,  and  when  His  mercies  fail  to  accomplish  it,  make 
Himself  remembered  by  '  terrible  things  in  righteousness.' 
Lord,  help  me  to  live  above  the  world.  Keep  me  from 
ever  being  so  engrossed  by  its  cares  as  to  forget  the  one 
thing  needful. 


72  FEEBLE  HEALTH  OF  HIS  MOTHER. 

"  Here  we  have  commenced,  about  two  months  ago,  a 
Sabbath-school.  I  do  not  yet  feel  the  same  interest  in 
these  children  as  I  did  in  those  I  left  at  Strathblane,  but 
I  must  remember  that  all  souls  are  equally  precious.  I 
often  wonder  how  I  am  so  lethargic  and  lifeless  amongst 
the  scholars,  when  I  always  feel  as  if  my  time  were  short, 
and  that  I  am  soon  to  give  in  my  account.  I  am  not 
what  I  would  like  to  be.  I  would  like  to  make  more 
exertions  to  promote  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  my 
beloved  mother,  whose  heart  is  oppressed  with  a  load  of 
sorrow  accessible  only  to  the  hand  of  the  Great  Physician, 
and  to  advance  the  spiritual  improvement  of  the  rest  of 
the  family.  I  would  like  to  be  more  lively  in  prayer, 
more  humble,  less  fretful,  less  vain-glorious.  I  would 
like  to  live  nearer  to  God,  and  possess  an  assurance  of  my 
own  acceptance.  I  would  like  to  read  the  Bible  more  as 
the  Word  of  the  living  God!' 

"  June  SOth,  1S35. 

'•  My  deae  Uncle, — ^When  I  look  at  the  date  of  your 
last  letter,  I  fear  you  may  begin  to  feel  uneasy  at  my  long 
silence.  The  truth  is,  when  I  was  purposing  to  write  to 
you  a  fortnight  ago,  I  was  attacked  by  one  of  the  most 
obstinate  colds  I  ever  recollect  to  have  had,  which  has 
confined  me  to  bed  for  nearly  all  that  time,  and  which 
still  renders  writing  a  formidable  employment.  I  am 
sorry  that  I  am  not  yet  able  to  give  favourable  accounts 
of  mamma's  health.  For  nearly  a  month  she  has  not  been 
out  of  bed,  and  so  far  from  being  better,  I  think  she  has 
for  the  last  two  days  been  weaker  than  ever.  This  long 
protracted  debility  is  a  cause  of  much  anxiety  to  us  all. 


BUPtDEN  BORNE  BY  ELDEST  SON.  73 

The  summer  is  hastening  away  witliout  having  produced 
any  of  those  "beneficial  effects  which  we  thought  it  only 
required  time  to  accomplish.  And  in  a  month  or  two  we 
must  leave  Strathblane,  which  I  do  not  see  how  she  can 
stand  in  her  present  infirm  state." 

Wlien  a  minister  in  the  country  is  called  away  by 
death,  some  peculiar  features  adhere  to  the  bereavement. 
It  is  not  only  that  the  modest  income  ceases  immediately, 
but  the  house,  the  birthplace  and  home  of  the  children, 
must  be  abandoned  at  once.  The  first  morning  that  they 
awake  fatherless,  they  awake  as  strangers  on  the  only 
spot  they  have  ever  known  as  their  own.  The  widow, 
while  her  wounds  are  yet  green,  must  remove  with  all  her 
family,  to  seek  elsewhere  a  place  of  abode.  In  this  case 
the  suffering  was  much  mitigated  by  the  possession  of  a 
little  property,  which,  carefully  husbanded,  satisfied  the 
simple  wants  of  mother  and  children,  and  sufficed  to  carry 
forward  the  education  of  all  three  sons. 

Suddenly  at  this  crisis  our  youthful  student  was  thrown 
to  the  front,  and  obliged  to  cope  directly  with  the  various 
troubles  of  life— as  the  support  of  his  widowed  mother 
and  the  guide  of  his  younger  brothers  and  sisters.  Loyally 
he  accepted  the  task,  lovingly  and  courageously  he  dis- 
charged it.  Now  appeared  the  value  of  the  training  he 
had  received  from  his  father,  and  the  grace  he  had  gotten 
from  God. 


CHAPTER  IT. 

FROM  HIS  FATHEE'S  DEATH  TO  THE  COMMENCEMENT 
OF  HIS  MINISTRY. 

A  JOURNAL  is  extant  containing  an  exact  record  of  his 
employments  from  day  to  day  during  the  whole  of  the 
vacation  that  immediately  succeeded  his  father's  death. 
This  book,  however,  is  entirely  silent  regarding  his  pro- 
gress in  the  divine  life.  It  takes  no  note  either  of  his 
joys  or  his  sorrows.  The  exercises  of  his  spirit  and  the 
emotions  of  his  heart  during  that  trying  season  he  has 
deliberately  omitted  to  record.  The  memory  of  them  has 
passed  away  with  him.  His  great  sorrow,  however,  did 
not  impede  or  divert  his  course  as  a  student ;  it  rather 
quickened  his  pace  by  supplying  additional  motives.  From 
the  1st  of  May  to  the  29th  of  October  1835  the  daily  tale 
of  work  is  briefly,  coolly,  sternly  entered.  The  summer 
was  one  continuous  effort,  and  the  only  relaxation  seems 
to  have  been  a  frequent  change  of  occupation.  From 
Latin  to  English  history,  and  from  mathematics  to  Luther's 
Bible,  he  turned  freely  and  frequently,  but  never  from 
work  to  rest.  If  he  is  somewhat  wearied  by  five  hours  of 
seventeenth  century  theology,  eleven  hundred  lines  of 
Virgil,  in  preparation  for  his  degree,  must  do  duty  as  a 
period  of  rest;   and  when  his  eyes  grow  dry  over  the 


LEAVING  THE  MAKSE.  75 

Greek  of  Thucydides  and  Euripides,  he  will  batlie  them 
in  the  large  and  luscious  tomes  of  Gibbon's  Decline  and 
Fall. 

The  hour  of  rising  varies  from  five  to  seven,  and  the 
preparation  of  his  father's  Memoir  occupies  a  portion  of 
almost  every  day.  On  the  1st  of  May  the  Ewing  medal, 
for  an  account  of  the  Wars  of  the  League  in  Trance,  with 
other  honours,  are  sent  home  to  the  manse.  The  sight  of 
trophies  saddens  the  winner's  heart,  because  the  lips 
whose  praise  he  coveted  were  cold  and  silent. 

Tn  September  the  daily  entries  cease,  and  instead  the 
following  record  stands  : — "  11-19. — These  nine  days  were 
almost  wholly  lost  by  preparations  for  leaving  Strathblane, 
and  by  arranging  the  library  after  reaching  our  new  resi- 
dence. Left  Strathblane  on  Wed.  the  16th.  Eead  200 
pages  of  Whewell's  Astronomy  and  General  Physics,  and 
Pillans'  Letters  on  Teaching,  140  pages  ;  also  150  pages  of 
Dods  071  the  Incarnation,  and  Crabbe's  Poems,  vol.  i.,  300 
pages." 

Thus  the  departure  of  the  minister's  family  from  the 
manse  is  wrapped  up  in  a  bundle  of  figures  and  names. 
Not  a  word  betrays  any  emotion,  I  suppose  the  reason 
why  the  emotions  were  not  written  is  that  they  were  too 
big.  This  eldest  son  of  a  widow  gathered  up  the  goods  of 
the  family,  and  led  his  mother  and  her  younger  children 
forth  from  the  house  of  his  childhood  with  a  courage  more 
than  stoical,  for  it  was  the  fruit  of  Christian  faith.  By 
maintaining  a  complete  silence  regarding  the  feelings  of 
the  moment,  he  has  in  effect  cast  a  veil  over  his  face 
while  it  was  wet  with  weeping,  that  a  grief  so  sacred 


76  SETTLEiMENT  AT  EASTERHOUSE. 

might  not  be  exposed  to  the  public  gaze.  "What  he 
desired  to  conceal  we  shall  make  no  effort  to  uncover. 

The  library,  we  incidentally  learn,  was  the  bulkiest  part 
of  the  "flitting."  The  labour  of  arranging  it  interfered 
with  study  for  several  days.  That  same  library,  in  which 
he  had  often  revelled  while  yet  a  child  at  his  father's 
knee,  enriched  by  many  additions  of  his  own,  stood  as  a 
stately  monument  in  his  house  at  Euston  Square,  the 
mine  in  which  he  quarried  for  his  gold,  and  the  object  of 
interest  to  the  casual  visitor. 

On  9th  September  the  change  of  address  is  intimated 
to  his  uncle,  still  without  a  syllable  on  that  removal  from 
the  home  of  his  childhood,  which  must  have  been  one  of 
the  saddest  scenes  of  his  life : — 

"  In  future  be  so  good  as  address  letters  for  us  to  the 
care  of  Messrs.  Ogle  and  Son,  Glasgow,  for  there  is  no 
post-office  within  three  miles  of  Easterhouse.  I  shall  be 
in  town  almost  every  day  in  winter.  Besides  Divinity, 
Hebrew,  and  Church  History,  I  propose  to  attend  the 
classes  for  Anatomy  and  Natural  History.  And  as  I  in- 
tend to  take  my  degree  this  year  if  I  can  get  it,  I  shall 
have  enough  to  do  during  the  winter.  That  is  what  I 
like,  for  I  become  unhappy  when  inactive." 

In  the  first  instance,  the  family  found  a  comfortable 
residence  at  Easterhouse,  a  few  miles  eastward  from  the 
city  of  Glasgow.  A  month  later  he  is  able  to  give  his 
uncle  a  more  cheerful  report : — 

'*  Easterhouse,  Old  Monkland, 
Nov.  Ufh,  1835. 

"  My  dear  Uncle, — I  do  not  believe  that  I  have  written 


'       "^       DAY-BOOK  FOPv  STRAY  THOUGHTS.  77 

to  you  since  we  came  to  this  place,  and  that  is  now  two 
months  ago.  "VVe  are  five  miles  from  town,  and  William 
and  I  go  every  day  to  attend  tlie  classes  there.  We  leave 
home  in  the  Canal  passage-boat  after  breakfast,  and  re- 
turn about  five  in  the  evening.  Mamma's  health  is  gi'eatly 
improved.  We  are  within  a  mile  of  Baillreston  Church, 
one  of  the  new  erections,  the  minister  of  which,  Mr.  Gray, 
is  a  good  man,  and  an  interesting  preacher,  I  must  say 
that  in  its  altered  circumstances  I  had  much  rather  be 
here  than  at  Strathblane." 

The  last  sentence  refers  to  the  settlement  of  a  minister 
as  his  father's  successor.  He  was  vigorous,  scholarly,  and 
accomplished.  He  failed  not  to  show  that  sympathy  and 
tenderness  to  the  famUy  of  his  predecessor  which  their 
character  and  their  circumstances  deserved,  but  it  was  all 
too  evident  to  James  that  the  tone  of  his  father's  teaching 
in  the  parish  would  in  many  respects  be  reversed.  The 
incumbent  did  not  long  survive. 

In  tracing  the  course  of  James  Hamilton's  life  at  this, 
as  at  every  period,  one  is  amazed  at  the  quantity  of  evi- 
dence, scattered  on  every  side,  of  a  teeming  activity  that 
never  knew  repose,  and  an  appetite  for  acquirement  that 
seemed  to  grow  by  what  it  fed  on.  A  book  inaugurated 
17th  July  1835,  and  filled  to  the  brim,  presents  a  most 
interesting  and  suggestive  miscellany.  On  the  fly-leaf  it 
is  entitled,  ^avraaiat,  and  in  a  regular  introduction  gives 
the  following  account  of  itself : — 

"  As  much  good  timber  is  carried  down  the  Mississippi 
and  drifted  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  where  it  is  destroyed 


78  CHRISTIAN  UNITY. 

or  lost,  as  would,  if  interrupted  in  its  progress,  build  a 
navy.  I  have  committed  to  writing  few  thoughts  worth 
preserving,  but  by  having  no  proper  place  to  put  them  I 
have  lost  a  multitude.  For  such  stray  thoughts  Dr. 
Thomas  Brown  (vide  Welsh's  Life)  kept  a  book  which  he 
called  a  chaos.  It  shall  be  a  magazine  in  which  to  trea- 
sure up  all  those  thoughts  which  are  not  required  for 
present  consumption,  but  which  may  all  be  needed  in  a 
future  dearth — a  lumber-room  of  unclaimed  and  unassorted 
ideas — a  iravhoxetov — for  the  temporary  accommodation  of 
all  stragglers,  great  and  small." 

The  first  entry  in  this  day-book  of  floating  ideas  is 
entitled  Christian  Unity,  and  is  inserted  here  entire  : — 

"  In  heaven  there  will  be  no  such  thing  as  formal  re- 
conciliations. Without  the  intervention  of  a  third  party 
Paul  and  Barnabas  would  at  once  be  friends — friends  for 
eternity.  No  explanations,  no  making  of  apologies,  no 
satisfaction.  It  is  only  a  proof  of  the  sad  imperfection  of 
the  present  state,  that  all  those  who  are  reconciled  unto 
God  through  Christ  do  not  necessarily  continue  steadfastly 
attached  to  one  another.  The  moment  a  good  man  enters 
heaven  he  finds  himself  one  of  a  band  of  brothers,  though 
in  the  midst  of  that  company  towards  which  his  heart  is 
at  once  drawn  out  in  the  tenderest  love  may  be  those  of 
whose  presence  he  used  to  be  shy,  whose  motives  he  was 
wont  to  suspect,  and  whose  persons  he  held  in  dislike. 
From  the  moment  that  the  first  note  of  the  heavenly  music 
strikes  the  ear,  all  hearts  must  beat  in  unison." 

The  next  head  is  Selfishness.  On  the  series  goes  tiU 
the  book  is  crammed  to  its  last  fly-leaf  with  a  congeries 


A  CHURCH  HISTORY  FOR  THE  USE  OF  SCHOOLS.       70 

of  thoughts  and  things  as  variegated  as  the  contents  of 
the  earth, — as  bright  withal,  and  as  beautiful.  Comments 
on  texts  of  Scripture  alternate  with  extracts  from  scientific 
books,  and  physical  facts  commingle  with  moral  specula- 
tions. His  mind  passed  through  the  confused  tumult  of 
miscellaneous  life  as  a  magnet  passes  through  a  heap  of 
sweepings  from  a  factory,  leaving  everything  that  was 
mere  dust  behind,  but  emerging  with  all  the  filings  of 
real  steel  that  lay  in  the  way  adhering  to  its  sides,  to  be 
stored  for  future  use.  The  ultimate  extent  of  his  acquire- 
ments, with  the  high  uses  to  which  he  applied  them, 
constituted  another  example  of  the  Scriptural  maxim, 
"  The  hand  of  the  diligent  maketh  rich." 

From  the  multifarious  contents  of  this  book  we  submit 
another  specimen,  showing  that  his  mental  activity  was 
continually  shaping  itself  into  schemes  of  practical  use- 
fulness : — 

"  6.  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. — I  have  been 
asked  if  there  is  no  history  of  the  Scottish  Church  fit  for 
the  use  of  schools.  I  know  of  none,  Defoe's  is  perhaps 
the  most  suitable,  but  it  was  not  written  on  pm^pose. 
Such  a  history  should  be  concise,  without  having  the 
appearance  of  an  abridgment,  should  be  written  in  an 
engaging  style,  and  should  be  free  from  the  prejudices 
and  misrepresentations  mixed  up  with  most  of  the  popu- 
lar histories.  Such  a  work  would  be  of  great  value.  By 
making  the  youth  of  the  present  generation  at  an  early 
period  acquainted  with  the  constitution  and  eventful  his- 
tory, the  services,  and  the  piety  of  our  National  Church, 
their  affections  might  be  gained  in  its  behalf,  and  their 


80  MISCELLANEOUS  OBSERVATIONS. 

minds  fortified  against  the  prevailing  efforts  to  prejudice 
the  public  against  it.  The  usefulness  of  the  undertaking 
should  render  it  sufficiently  dignified.  If  not  anticipated 
in  my  design,  and  if  health  and  opportunity  be  given,  I 
may  myself  attempt  it.  J.  H. 

"^M.7.  7,  1835." 

Immense  quantities  of  botanical  observations  are  scat- 
tered over  all  his  journals.  Many  pages  are  filled  with 
notices  of  particular  plants,  and  of  the  locaUties  in  wliich 
they  were  found.  In  this  sense  it  may  be  said  that  flowers 
were  freely  interwoven  with  all  his  studies.  But  though 
botany  everywhere  bulks  most  largely,  it  did  not,  among 
the  physical  sciences,  obtain  a  monopoly  of  liis  atten- 
tion. The  journals  of  1835  teem  with  facts  in  various 
departments,  accompanied  with  appropriate  philosophical 
speculations.  Nothing  escaped  his  notice,  and  nothing 
that  attracted  his  notice  was  omitted  from  liis  notes.  A 
whale  was  cast  ashore  in  the  Clyde,  and  its  skeleton  ex- 
hibited in  Glasgow;  forthwith  all  its  measurements  go 
into  his  journal,  with  relative  comments  and  queries.  We 
learn  the  girth  of  the  aorta,  and  the  quantity  in  gallons  of 
arterial  blood  that  is  drawn  in  by  every  contraction  of  the 
left  ventricle.  In  the  same  or  a  subsequent  exliibition  is 
a  living  rhinoceros ;  he  also  is  dissected  in  the  book  as 
minutely  as  his  dead  marine  confrere.  Facts  are  gathered 
and  speculations  hazarded  regarding  the  distribution  of 
plants  over  the  earth,  from  one  or  more  centres.  The 
miners  of  the  neighbourhood,  with  whom  one  has  time 
enough  to  converse  during  the  slow  progress  of  the  canal- 
boat  to  the  city,  supply  him  with  some  curious  informa- 


IN  NA.TUIIAL  HISTORY.  81 

tion  regarding  tlie  relative  position  of  the  various  strata 
through  which  they  penetrate  in  sinking  their  shafts. 
Forthwith  he  must  endeavour  to  account  for  the  facts  by 
geological  generahzations  abeady  made,  or  set  the  un- 
explained facts  aside  as  materials  of  a  new  generahzation. 
Interspersed  vntli  these  notices  in  the  domain  of  natu- 
ral history,  occur  miniature  biographies  of  eertain  ragged 
urchins  who  stand  on  the  roll  of  his  Sabbath-school,  with 
anticipations  sometimes  anxious,  sometimes  hopeful,  re- 
garding their  spiritual  progress.  On  the  whole,  the  tracks 
which  the  student  has  left  of  his  course  during  this  year 
constitute  a  precious  and  beautiful  miscellany.  This  is 
not  a  prejudiced  or  one-sided  intellect;  it  is  peculiarly 
well  balanced.  This  ship  is  remarkably  Avell  trimmed, 
and  may  be  expected  to  cleave  steadily,  even  through 
stormy  seas,  if  her  course  should  happen  to  lie  in  that 
direction.  Science  is  neither  divorced  from,  nor  overlaid 
by,  religion.  These  two,  both  living,  grow  in  the  same 
soil,  and  intertwine  their  branches,  as  usefully  and  as 
beautifully  as  the  forest-trees  and  the  vines  on  the  hill 
slopes  of  Italy.  In  the  material  world  and  the  Scriptures 
this  scholar  is  equally  at  home.  In  both  fields  he  ex- 
patiates with  dehght,  simultaneously  or  alternately.  On 
one  page  of  his  journal  you  may  find  confirmation  by  fact 
and  experiment  of  Darwin's  theory,  that  the  ascent  of  the 
plumula  in  germinating  seeds  is  stimulated  by  air,  and 
the  descent  of  the  radicle  by  moisture,  and  on  the  next 
page  you  may  read  that  "  Eobert  Black  and  David  Brown- 
lee  repeated  their  psalms  without  fault,"  while  Andi'ew 
Burt  and  John  Brownlee  made  one  slip  each.     Thus,  in 

F 


82  RECOUD  OF  WOEK. 

the  true  pliilosopliic  spirit,  he  observed  his  facts  carefully, 
and  recorded  them  exactly,  in  whatever  domain  they  might 
be  found.  To  write  down  whatever  he  saw  or  heard 
seems  to  have  been  with  him  both  a  passion  and  a  habit. 

He  had  an  eye  for  what  is  grand  or  beautiful  in  ex- 
ternal nature ;  yet  he  fully  and  practically  owned  that  the 
immortal  young  miners  who  were  growing  up  all  around, 
are  more  wonderful  works  of  God,  and  more  worthy  of 
cultivation  than  the  flowers  that  blossomed  on  the  surface, 
or  the  minerals  that  lay  in  the  crust  of  the  earth.  With- 
out conscious  effort,  and  with  singular  precision,  he  gave 
everytliing  its  proper  place.  In  his  view,  natural  law  and 
spiritual  revival  were  parallel  lines,  which  might  run  near 
each  other  in  the  same  direction  for  ever  without  running 
foul. 

The  account  of  his  reading  during  this  season  is  enough 
to  make  one  giddy.  "  Eose  at  4,  rose  at  5,"  varied  by  an 
occasional  indulgence  till  7  o'clock,  make  up  the  tale  of 
time.  The  number  of  hours  devoted  to  each  department 
of  the  day's  duty  is  daily  chronicled :  so  many  in  the 
canal  boat ;  so  many  in  attendance  at  classes  ;  so  many  in 
reading,  or  in  conversation  with  visitors.  Then  comes  a 
note  of  the  pages  that  have  been  read,  distinguishing  the 
sizes  of  the  several  books.  At  the  close  of  each  month 
there  is  a  summation  of  quantities, — June  gives  2580, 
July  2250,  and  August  2110,  pages. 

I  suppose  the  work  and  the  record  of  it  act  and  react 
on  each  other  alternately,  as  cause  and  effect.  It  may  be 
true  that  if  he  had  not  noted  so  carefully  for  his  own  eye 
what  he  did,  he  would  not  have  done  so  much ;   but  it 


INFLUENCE  OF  LARGE  CITIES.  83 

may  also  be  true  that  if  lie  had  not  done  so  much  work, 
he  would  scarcely  have  written  out  so  clearly  the  evidence 
of  his  indolence.  The  merchant  who  keeps  his  ledgers  all 
correct  will  probably  make  money ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  precisely  the  money-making  merchant  that 
dehghts  to  enter  his  gains  in  the  book. 

The  Session  1835-6,  while  he  resided  at  Easterhouse, 
was  the  last  that  he  attended  at  the  University  of  Glas- 
gow. AVith  the  exception  of  some  months  of  1837,  devoted 
to  the  study  of  botany  under  Sir  William  Hooker,  his 
relations  with  the  western  metropolis  were  closed  in  May 
1836.  His  long  residence  in  Glasgow  must  have  exercised 
a  beneficial  influence  in  moulding  his  character.  The 
College,  situated  in  the  heart  of  a  great  mercantile  city, 
cannot  become  isolated  and  wrap  itself  up  in  the  folds  of 
a  mysterious  antiquity.  AVliile  an  educational  institute 
of  the  highest  class  exercises  an  elevating  influence  on 
the  commercial  community  by  which  it  is  surrounded, 
that  community  reciprocally  interfuses  a  wholesome  air 
through  the  cloisters  of  the  College,  and  checks  its  tendency 
towards  mediaeval  monasticism.  If  the  founders  of  col- 
leges in  England  had  happened  to  erect  their  structures 
over  the  coal  and  iron-stone  beds,  and  Oxford  had  found 
itself  in  the  centre  of  modern  Birmingham,  the  Tractarian 
retrogression  towards  Eome  would  probably  not  have 
occurred.  These  fungous  growths  do  not  thrive  under 
the  tread  of  busy  multitudes,  and  near  the  fires  of  a  vast 
national  industry.  Modern  life,  if  it  had  existed  in  great 
masses  on  the  spot,  would  probably  have  overcome  the 
attraction  of  ecclesiastic  antiquity.     When  a  student  ob- 


84  MEMOIR  OF  HIS  FATHER. 

tains  liis  collegiate  education  in  immediate  contact  with 
a  large,  wealthy,  and  not  illiberal  community,  there  is  a 
better  chance  that  his  common  sense  will  be  as  weU 
developed  as  his  scholarship. 

Besides  the  immediate  work  of  his  classes,  he  was 
occupied  during  the  winter  with  the  Memoir  of  his  father, 
and  the  inevitable,  invariable  Sabbath-school. 

"29th  February  1S36. 

"  My  dear  Uncle, — How  can  we  thank  you  for  your 
invaluable  present  ?  The  gift  and  the  giver,  and  every 
thing  connected  with  it,  make  it  unspeakably  precious. 
I  had  little  idea  that  such  an  engraving  was  to  be  pro- 
duced. It  is  a  wonderful  likeness,  and  has  brought  the 
tears  into  many  an  eye.  You  have  done  what  will  be  a 
gratification  to  hundreds.  The  very  sight  of  this  will 
bring  my  dear  father's  discourses  and  his  living  character 
more  vividly  to  mind  than  any  words  printed  in  a  book. 
What  a  happy  thing  that  that  likeness  was  taken  ! 

"  I  do  not  know  whether  I  told  you  that  we  had  estab- 
lished a  Sabbath- school  here  about  four  months  ago.  It 
has  prospered  beyond  expectation,  and  is  attended  by 
upwards  of  thirty  boys  and  fifty  girls.  It  has  done  more 
than  any  other  thing  to  interest  me  in  the  place,  and  I 
cannot  tell  how  happy  I  would  be  were  I  sure  of  its  doing 
good.  The  children  have  a  bad  example  in  their  parents, 
many  of  wliom  attend  no  church,  and  spend  their  Sab- 
oaths  in  the  public-houses,  with  whicli  the  neighbour- 
hood abounds.  Mr.  Gray  is  a  diligent  minister,  and 
spends  much  of  his  time  in  visiting  his  people." 


MEMOIR  OF  HIS  FATHER.  85 

At  length,  in  May  1836,  lie  succeeded  in  bringing  out 
tlie  Memoir  of  his  father,  in  one  volume,  with  some  post- 
humous writings  in  another.  Sustained  by  the  counsel 
of  his  uncle,  the  courageous  youth  addressed  himself  to 
the  task  with  a  heroic  devotion.  The  work  bears  marks 
of  a  maturity  altogether  beyond  the  editor's  years.  Never 
did  son  more  reverentially,  and  ardently;  embalm  his 
father's  memory,  and  never  had  worthy  son  a  wortliier 
father  as  the  subject  of  his  first  great  literary  labour. 

In  the  memory  of  Scottish  worthies  who  have  passed 
the  age  of  fifty,  a  halo  of  lovely  holiness  still  hangs  round 
the  head  of  the  late  minister  of  Strathblane.  It  is  well 
that  those  who  knew  and  admired  the  virtues  of  the  son, 
should  be  reminded  that  he  owed  much  to  his  father. 
James  Hamilton  in  his  youth  enjoyed,  in  very  large 
measure,  the  advantages  Avhich  the  Scottish  form  of  piety 
in  the  earlier  portion  of  the  century  was  fitted  to  confer, 
with  few  or  none  of  the  disadvantages  which  to  some 
extent  really  adhere,  and  to  a  much  larger  extent  are 
incorrectly  attributed  to  it.  In  the  home  of  his  childhood 
there  was,  to  the  full  extent,  the  Scriptural  seriousness  and 
devoutness,  with  none  of  the  sourness  which  strangers 
often  ascribe  to  the  religion  of  the  country.  The  light 
which  the  gospel  shed  on  the  manse  of  Strathblane  was 
a  gladsome  hght.  There  was  strictness,  indeed,  in  the 
service  of  God ;  but  there  was  also  the  joyous  freedom  of 
dear  children.  The  union,  manifested  by  Dr.  Hamilton 
in  London,  of  old,  deep,  Scottish  Presbyterian  orthodoxy 
with  the  lovely  phabihty  of  a  universal  charity,  was  the 
legitimate  result  of  early  training  and  example. 


86  PROSPECT  OF  SESSION  IN  EDINBURGH. 

"  Easterhouse,  Jmie  30th,  1836. 

"My  dear  Uncle, — The  kindness  of  your  letter  has 
done  me  great  good,  and  made  me  feel  what  I  \vill  not  try 
to  express.  I  own  that  I  was  anxious  about  your  opinion ; 
for  if  the  Memoir  were  not  in  some  degree  adequate,  I  was 
sure  you  would  be,  disappointed ;  but  you  have  more  than 
relieved  my  anxieties ;  and  now,  though  the  book  were  to 
dissatisfy  all  the  world  besides,  it  would  comfort  me  to 
think  that  it  had  interested  you.  For  the  additional  and 
unexpected  act  of  kindness  in  regard  to  the  engraving, 
accept  my  warmest  thanks.     I  wish  I  could  convey  them. 

"  I  hope  James  Avill  come  to  Edinburgh  next  winter.  I 
intend,  if  all  be  well,  to  go  thither  myself,  and  it  would 
make  it  perfectly  deliglitful  if  James  were  there.  I  have 
laid  in  a  considerable  stock  of  divinity  akeady,  and  what 
I  want  now  is  instructions  how  to  lay  it  out  to  advantage. 
Good  Dr.  Macgill  has  given  me  a  system,  and  I  am  going 
to  Dr.  Chalmers  to  get  some  life  put  into  it ;  and  though 
James  does  not  stand  in  the  same  need  of  the  Doctor's 
inspiration,  I  engage  that  he  shall  find  the  winter  spent 
at  Edinburgh  the  most  valuable,  and  possibly  the  most 
agreeable  of  his  Hfe.  The  Session  there  lasts  from  the 
beginning  of  November  till  the  end  of  March.  Do  per- 
suade liim  to  come." 

The  summer  passed  without  change  of  circumstances  or 
variation  of  occupations.  Again,  as  in  former  seasons, 
lists  of  his  Sabbath  scholars,  with  jottings  of  their  lessons, 
alternate  with  Greek  and  Latin,  with  theology  and  philo- 
sophy, with  scientific  observations,  and  pedestrian  feats. 


VACATION  TOUE.  87 

Many  liills  were  climbed,  and  many  valleys  crossed,  in 
search  of  plants  to  increase  Ms  acquaintance  with  the 
Scottish  flora.  A  solitary  tour  to  Loch  Katrine  Avas  per- 
formed in  August.  The  record  of  observations  is  as  usual 
complete.  "VVe  insert  the  first  page  as  a  sj^ecimen  of  his 
method. 

^'August  2,  1836. — Set  out  for  a  tour  to  .the  Trossachs. 
Took  the  boat  to  Fallvirk,  where  I  arrived  at  liaK-past  three. 
Walked  from  that  to  Stirhng,  rather  more  than  ten  miles. 
Passed  throuo-h  Larbert,  a  village  with  a  beautiful  church. 
To  the  north  of  it,  and  in  the  parish  of  St.  Mnian's,  is 
Torwood,  famous  for  Donald  Cargill's  excommunication  of 
the  King,  Duke  of  York,  Lauderdale,  etc.  Still  further  is 
Plean,  the  residence  of  the  late  Colonel  Simson,  who  has 
built  and  endowed  on  his  estate  an  hospital  for  old  seamen. 
At  Beaton  Mills  saw  the  old  cottage  where  James  iii.  was 
murdered ;  was  shown  parts  of  the  upper  and  nether  mill- 
stones, with  the  marks  of  the  spindle- sockets  which  had 
been  in  use  at  the  time.  Then  proceeded  to  the  field  of 
Bannockburn.  The  Bruce's  flag-stone  still  remains.  A 
weaver  had  built  it  into  the  wall  of  his  house,  but  the 
laird  very  properly  made  him  take  down  the  wall  and 
surrender  the  stone,  wliich  is  now  defended  from  further 
perils  by  a  strong  iron  grating.  The  cows  were  feeding 
very  peaceably  in  the  morass  where  Edward's  cavalry 
made  such  stumbhng  amongst  Bruce's  spikes  and  pitfalls. 
The  room  where  James  expired  is  a  small  place,  with  a 
roof  too  low  to  admit  of  your  standing  upright.  The 
corner  Avhere  he  lay  is  still  pointed  out  by  the  side  of  the 
fire." 


88  INVITATION  TO  HIS  COUSIN. 

In  the  same  style,  Stirling,  Callander,  and  every  place 
of  note  on  tlie  route,  are  delineated,  socially,  arcliitecturally, 
arcliffiologically,  and  most  of  all  botanically.  The  whole 
comes  out  a  rapid,  fresh,  beautiful  conglomerate.  Notliing 
is  omitted,  and  no  two  things  are  counted  too  diverse  in 
kind  for  lying  next  each  other.  As  they  came  to  hand, 
they  are  heaped  up — old  legend,  modern  aspect,  ruined 
tower,  physical  observation, — are  all  thrown  pell-mell  on 
the  top  of  each  other,  for  the  student  is  collecting  materials 
at  present ;  he  will  classify  and  generalize  by  and  by. 

"  Easterhouse,  Oct.  2\st,  1836. 

"  My  dear  Uncle, — Since  I  got  your  letter  of  August 
13  th,  I  have  written  to  James,  but  it  is  more  than  time  that 
I  should  write  to  you  also. 

"  We  were  glad  to  learn  by  a  letter  from  Bogside,  a  few 
days  ago,  that  it  is  hkely  James  will  be  in  Edinburgh  this 
winter.  We  are  all  going  in  together,  and  have  taken  such 
a  house  as  will  hold  us  all  for  the  winter.  We  would  be 
very  happy  that  James  should  occupy  one  bedroom  that 
we  can  spare ;  and  perhaps  he  and  I  might  make  common 
cause  of  another  room  to  study  in.  But  if  James  prefers 
the  independence  of  an  Oxford  bachelor,  there  are  hun- 
dreds of  lodgings  at  present  to  let.  For  our  residence 
this  winter,  we  have  secured  the  ground  floor  and  sunk 
fiat  of  a  house  in  Buccleuch  Place,  near  the  College  ;  but 
if  Edinburgh  should  not  prove  too  cold  for  us,  it  is  likely 
that  at  next  term  we,  may  take  a  house  large  enough  to 
hold  all  our  books,  etc.,  and  make  it  our  permanent  abode. 
Dr.  Chalmers  does  not  begin  his  lectures  till  Wednesday 


REMOVAL  TO  EDINBUllGH.  89 

the  IGtli  of  next  montli.  If  James  lias  Hill's  Lectures  on 
Divinitij,  and  the  Doctor's  works  on  Natural  Theology  and 
the  Evidences,  he  should  bring  them  with  him  ;  not  for- 
getting Butler's  Analogy.  Might  it  not  be  worth  Avhile 
for  James  to  attend  Dr.  Welsh's  lectures  on  Church 
History  ?  I  beheve  they  are  this  Session  to  refer  chiefly 
to  the  Church  of  Scotland.  But  Dr.  Welsh  is  a  pliilo- 
soplier  and  a  man  of  taste,  and  worth  attending,  whatever 
be  his  subject.  Tell  James  I  am  only  waiting  his  letter 
to  send  my  congratulations  on  honours  which  I  am  sure 
must  be  conferred  one  of  these  days,  and  am  felicitating 
m3^3eK  in  the  prospect  of  golden  hours  together." 

In  November  1836,  the  family  removed  to  Edinburgh, 
and  he  enjoyed  the  much  coveted  privilege  of  attending 
the  prelections  of  Dr.  Chalmers  and  Dr.  Welsh  on  Theology 
and  Church  History.  A  journal  of  work  then  begins  on 
20th  November,  and  differs  in  nothing  from  its  j)i'ede- 
cessors,  except  it  may  be  in  giving  still  more  minute 
details  of  hours  spent,  books  read,  and  work  done.  No 
history  of  liis  spiritual  progress  at  this  period  is  written  ; 
at  least  none  is  extant.  There  is  every  reason  to  conclude 
that  liis  faith  continued  strong,  and  his  love  fervent,  but 
for  the  most  part  he  has  kept  silence  on  these  high  matters, 
and  written  only  the  narrative  of  his  external  hfe. 

His  effort  to  induce  his  cousin  to  study  for  one  season 
in  Edinburgh  failed.  That  pleasure,  though  fondly  anti- 
cipated, was  never  enjoyed. 

The  summer  came,  and  with  it  new  oj)portunities  of 
prosecuting  his  favourite  studies.     Although  passionately 


90  KOTES  OF  CONVEKSATION 

attached  to  home,  he  still  leaves  it  for  the  botany  that  may- 
be gathered,  by  the  help  of  Sir  Wilham  Hooker,  in  the 
west.  Undistracted  by  the  work  of  his  own  classes,  which 
are  conducted  during  the  winter,  he  will  this  year  tln-ow 
lumself  with  all  liis  might  into  the  summer  course  of 
botany  given  for  the  benefit  of  the  medical  students  of  the 
University  of  Glasgow. 

In  the  following  notes  we  obtain  some  interesting 
glimpses  of  a  remarkable  man,  the  late  Professor  of 
Chemistry  in  the  University  of  Glasgow,  Dr.  Thomas 
Thomson.  Although  in  manner  he  was  proverbially  dis- 
tant and  silent,  he  seems  to  have  let  liimseK  out  freely  in 
conversation  with  his  former  pupil. 

"  123  Nile  Street,  Glasgow, 
May  Sth,  1837. 

"  Came  from  Edinburgh  to  attend  Sir  AViUiam  Hooker's 
lectures  on  Botany.  On  this  side  of  Falkirk,  Dr.  Thomson 
came  into  the  boat.  Had  more  than  an  hour's  conversation 
with  him.  I  told  him  of  Dr.  Johnson's  (Durham  College) 
paj^er,  which  I  heard  read  at  the  Edinburgh  Eoyal  Society, 
April  17th,  in  refutation  of  the  Doctor's  analysis  of  a 
Baryto-calcite-primeval.  'He  wTote  me  a  letter  about  it, 
l:)ut  as  he  had  only  the  tenth  of  a  grain  to  work  with,  I 
paid  it  no  attention. — Dr.  Hardy's  lectures  on  church 
liistory  were  the  best  course  he  ever  attended.  So  popular 
was  he  that  jon  had  to  secure  your  place — there  was  no 
getting  in  afterwards.- — Dr.  Watson's  History  of  Philip  of 
Spain  is  the  best  historical  work  ever  WTitten.  There  is 
none  so  well  arranged.  Dr.  Watson  was  Professor  of 
Logic,  and  he  and  Irving  were  the  only  professors  that  he 


WITH  DR.  THOMAS  THOMSON.  91 

ever  heard  swearing  in  the  class,'  He  did  everything  to 
make  himself  singular,  and  attract  notice.  Dr.  Thomson 
has  seen  him  hop  on  one  leg  the  whole  length  of  the 
class-room  in  the  midst  of  a  lecture. 

"  We  had  a  debate  on  patronage.  The  Doctor  believes 
it  necessary  to  the  union  between  Church  and  State. 
What  is  the  use  of  building  more  churches  when  people 
won't  come  out  to  fill  them  ?  The  church  I  attend  con- 
tains none  but  well-dressed  and  genteel-looking  people 
(St.  David's),  and  it  ought  to  be  a  poor  church.  You  will 
find  the  saying  of  Dean  Swift  to  hold  true  :  '  The  top  is 
all  froth,  and  the  bottom  all  dregs,  for  all  the  religion  of 
the  land  is  among  the  middle- classes,  and  it  is  well,  for 
while  they  remain  uncorrupted  they  may  reform  the  higher 
and  the  lower.' 

"  I  have  no  doubt  that  geology  furnishes  the  best  argu- 
ment for  a  particular  Providence,  and  that  the  most  con- 
vincing proofs  will  by  and  by  be  those  brought  from 
geology.  If  there  have  been  successive  creations,  there 
must  be  a  particular  providence,  and  I  know  no  more 
conclusive  argument  for  the  Christian  miracles, — for  what 
are  these  creations  but  so  many  miracles." 

"  May  10. 

"  Called  at  the  College  laboratory.  Dr.  Thomson  saying 
something  about  his  own  son  Gideon  going  to  India,  I 
said  it  was  not  likely  I  would  ever  be  there.  '  You  don't 
know  where  you  may  be  yet.  Sir  Francis  Burdett  said 
that  he  could  not  tell  but  he  might  be  an  oyster  some 
day,  but  he  knew  he  could  never  be  a  Tory.  Now  you 
see  he  is  a  Tory,  but  he  is  not  an  oyster  yet.'" 


92  BOTANICAL  EXCURSION. 


TO  HIS  SISTER  MARY. 


"Glasgow,  30th  May  1837. 

"  Took  tea  at  Dr.  Forbes's.  Great  deal  of  interesting  con- 
versation, not  excepting  the  mathematical  part  of  it.  .  .  . 

"  l&tli. — Two  ladies  wlio  were  calling  sent  kind  regards, 
which  I  undertook  to  deliver,  but  neglected  to  ask  their 
names. 

"  ?>Qth. — I  have  spent  no  such  delightful  day  as  this 
since  I  came  to  Glasgow,  nor  indeed  for  a  long  time  past. 
Sir  W.  Hooker  had  fixed  this  morning  for  an  excursion 
with  his  class  to  Bowling  Bay.  So  at  7  we  set  sail  in 
a  most  inauspicious  rain,  which  prevented  all,  except  about 
fourteen  of  the  most  zealous,  from  venturino;.  The  rain 
soon  went  off,  and  troubled  us  no  more.  AMien  we 
reached  Bowling  we  found  the  worthy  knight,  who  had 
sailed  up  from  Kilmun,  awaiting  us  on  the  quay.  After 
some  waving  of  hats  and  other  preliminaries,  he  marched 
up  at  the  head  of  his  battahon  to  attack  a  breakfast  mar- 
shalled in  the  inn.  We  soon  put  the  whole  of  it  to  flight. 
Besides  despatching  kippered  salmon  and  a  couple  of  eggs, 
I  myself  did  good  service  both  on  toast  and  roUs.  Eising 
at  five,  and  a  sea-voyage,  made  me  valorous.  Tlien 
'  Eun  to  the  mountains,  run,  boys,  run.'  After  surveying 
the  Eoebuck  Glen  we  went  a  good  way  up  the  hills,  and 
got,  besides  a  profusion  of  the-  common  plants,  a  few  that 
are  rare.  \Yith  the  names  of  these  I  need  not  entertain 
you.  AVlien  the  trip  was  finished,  I  crossed  over  to 
Erskine,  accompanied  by  William  and  Joseph  Hooker. 
But  I  must  not  tell  how  we  ate  grapes  and  cherries  in 
Lord  Blantyre's  garden,  and  how  Joseph  Hooker,  in  chmb- 


UNTOWARD  ACCIDENTS.  93 

ing  a  lofty  fir  to  get  at  tlie  eggs  in  a  lieron's  nest,  in  Lord 
Blantyre's  heronry,  broke  a  branch,  and  fell  down  a  great 
way,  and  tore  his  clothes,  and  had  to  go  home  in  David 
Stewart's.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  after  dining  at  Ersldne 
Manse,  home  we  got  by  the  last  boat,  and  that,  after 
transacting  various  things,  I  am  now  closing  this  letter 
hard  upon  twelve  o'clock.  My  kindest  regards  to  Halley. 
My  love  to  you  all.  I  have  much  reason  to  be  thankful 
that  I  enjoy  such  health  and  opportunities  for  prosecuting 
a  study  that  I  love  so  well,  and  must  take  care  not  to  give 
it  the  place  of  better  tilings.  In  its  own  place  it  is  good, 
but  nothing  is  good  in  God's  place. — I  remain,  my  dear 
Mary,  yom^  affectionate  brother,  J.  H." 

TO  HIS  BKOTHER  ANDEEW. 

"  Wednesday,  May  21  st,  1837. 
"  I  HAD  a  party  to  breakfast,  that  is,  myself  and  three 
more — Arnot,  Joe  Hooker,  and  a  Mr.  Sinclair,  an  Edin- 
burgh friend  of  William  and  me.  Joe  Hooker  had  col- 
lected for  me  upwards  of  a  dozen  mosses  when  we  were 
at  Bowling,  and,  as  I  know  nothing  about  these  plants,  he 
was  kind  enough  to  arrange  and  name  them  for  me.  I 
went  out  leaving  them  all  displayed  on  the  table,  and, 
returning  two  hours  afterwards,  was  dumfoundered  to  find 
that  my  Highland  hostess  had  been  beautifying  the  table ; 
the  labels  with  the  names  were  all  piled  up  in  a  little 
heap  by  themselves,  and  the  mosses  packed  indiscrimi- 
nately into  the  little  vasculum.  I  tendered  a  very  gentle 
remonstrance  on  this  piece  of  ill-judged  attention,  the 
result  of  wliich  is  that  plants  have  risen  so  highly  in 


94  BOTANY  AND  BOTANISTS. 

Mrs.  Gilmour's  esteem,  tliat  if  in  sweeping  the  floor  slie 
chances  on  some  useless  leaf,  it  is  carefnlly  picked  up  and 
laid  on  the  table,  or  some  other  place  of  safety.  The 
afternoon  and  evening  were  not  interrupted,  and  I  he- 
stowed  them  on  my  own  uses. 

"  Sth. — Set  out  immediately  after  breakfast  to  search 
for  some  rare  plants  in  Possil  marsh,  but  after  ploutering 
two  hours  in  the  bog,  came  home  as  wise  as  I  went.  So 
after  dinner  struck  away  up  the  Clyde  as  far  as  Daldowie, 
and  fell  in  with  my  old  acquaintance,  Mr.  Campbell.  He 
was  taking  his  evening  promenade  in  a  pair  of  those 
sandals  without  heels  or  toes — Scotice,  hauchles — near  a 
very  pleasant  hermitage  below  Daldowie  House,  his  own 
residence,  I  presume.  He  mourns  that  yonder  he  cannot 
find  anybody  that  cares  about  a  plant,  though  in  his 
younger  days  he  knew  old  George  Don.  So  I  had  some 
more  stories  of  old  George,  and  some  of  the  old  ones  over 
again.  '  Many 's  the  hungry  belly  that  botany  has  given 
me.  I  remember  travelling  a  whole  day,  from  daybreak 
to  the  gloaming,  with  an  umbrella  over  my  head  all  the 
time,  in  search  of  the  Erica  cinerea  (bell  heather),  with 
white  flowers,  but  I  got  it  at  last,  just  when  it  was  grow- 
ing dark.'  It  was  growing  dark  soon  after  I  parted  with 
this  botanist  of  last  century,  and  I  assure  you  it  was  very 
romantic  to  Avander  down  the  banks  of  Clyde,  through 
Daldowie  and  Kenmuir  woods,  to  see  the  wild  flowers 
and  hear  the  wild  birds.  But  what  was  as  cheerful  a 
siglit  as  any,  at  one  place  I  had  paused  a  while  to  gather 
a  saxifrage,  when  I  heard  a  frequent  plashing  in  the 
water.     At  first  I  thought  it  was  some  mischievous  boy 


SIR  WILLIAM  HOOKER.  95 

throwing  stones,  but  soon  found  tliat  the  trouts  were  at 
supper,  and  the  party  was  a  large  one.  I  never  saw  so 
many  in  one  place.  Further  down,  numbers  of  people 
were  fishing,  but  the  trouts  seemed  to  pay  no  attention  to 
them.  Slept  soundly,  having  walked  altogether  nearly 
eleven  hours  this  day." 

TO  HIS  BROTHER  WnLLIAM. 

"Glasgow,  June  20f7i,  1837. 
"  Tuesday  ^'[st. — To-day  I  dined  with  Sir  WiUiam,  and 
I  doubt  if  I  ever  enjoyed  a  dinner  party  so  much.  I  had 
a  right  to  enjoy  it,  for  I  refused  three  other  invitations  for 
it.  Besides  his  lady  and  his  sons,  there  were  Mr.  Wales, 
a  Newcastle  botanist,  a  gentleman  from  India,  Mr.  Murray 
of  the  Garden,  two  English  students,  and  myself.  The 
conversation  was  all,  as  I  wished  and  hoped,  botanical, 
with  a  few  episodes  on  Mr.  Simeon  of  Cambridge,  Mr. 
Montgomery,  etc.  Lady  Hooker  is  a  person  of  the  most 
pleasing  manners,  and  as  fond  of  plants  as  the  noble  knight. 
He  has  just  got  a  letter  from  Berbice,  announcing  the  dis- 
covery of  a  water  lily,  with  leaves  six  feet  in  diameter, 
and  flowers  a  yard  in  circumference.  He  gave  me  to  read 
a  book  Avhich  I  expect  to  find  very  interesting,  Lieber, 
a  German  botanist's  travels  in  Palestine.  They  are  in 
German,  and  will  give  me  use  for  my  dictionary,  wdiich  is 
fortunately  here.  He  was  very  kind  in  inviting  me  to 
come  as  often  as  I  chose  and  make  use  of  his  books  and 
specimens.  You  know  the  story  of  Mungo  Park  and  the 
moss.  When  he  came  home  he  gave  it  to  his  brother-in- 
law,  Mr.  Dickson,  and  told  him,  '  That  is  the  moss  that 


96  SIR  WILLIAM  PROPOSES  A 

saved  my  life  in  Africa.'  Mr.  Dickson  gave  it  to  Sir  AYilliam, 
who  keeps  it  among  a  multitude  of  other  curiosities." 

The  discovery"  in  Berbice,  mentioned  in  this  note,  refers 
to  the  Victo7na  rcrjia,  which  was  immediately  introduced 
by  Sir  Wilham  into  the  Botanic  Garden  of  Glasgow,  and 
has  been  cultivated  there  with  great  success  every  year 
since  that  time. 

"  50  George  Square,  Sept.  27,  1837. 

"  My  dear  Uncle, — This  summer  I  attended  the  botani- 
cal class  in  Glasgow  taught  by  Sir  W.  Hooker.  I  had  the 
happiness  to  become  acquainted  with  him,  and  he  was 
very  urgent  that  I  should  go  to  Syria,  and  spend  a  year  in 
collecting  its  plants  and  studying  its  natural  history,  with 
a  special  view  to  the  illustration  of  the  Bible.  He  repre- 
sented that  there  was  much  to  be  done  in  this  department, 
and  that  a  person  with  zeal  for  botany  and  zoology,  and  a 
competent  knowledge  of  the  original  Scriptures,  might  do 
great  service,  and  get  himself  some  credit  by  the  investi- 
gation. These  inducements  were  powerful,  and  when  he 
added  that  if  I  would  go  he  would  allow  his  son,  with 
whom  I  have  been  long  intimate,  to  accompany  me,  I 
confess  that  it  was  with  some  reluctance  that  I  last  week 
decided  on  staying  at  home.  The  reasons  wliich  chiefly 
detained  me  were  the  distance,  expense,  and  hazards  of 
the  enterprise,  and,  above  all,  the  idea  of  being  three  or 
four  years  called  away  from  the  employment  to  which  I 
have  been  so  long  looking  forward.  My  mother  would 
have  been  anxious  all  the  time  that  I  was  away ;  I  might 
never  have  returned,  and  though  I  had,  might  have  found 


BOTANICAL  MISSION  TO  PALESTINE.  97 

the  family  here  in  different  circumstances  from  those  in 
which  I  left  them.  The  excursion  to  which  I  now  look 
forward  is  one  to  London.  I  would  like  to  come  up  at 
the  time  next  summer  when  it  will  be  most  convenient  for 
James  to  see  me,  and  I  intend  sending  him  an  epistle 
congratulatory  to-day,  in  which  I  shall  unfold  my  purpose." 

Considering  the  tastes  and  acquirements  of  our  student, 
much  interest  attaches  to  the  proposal  of  Sir  William,  as 
explained  in  the  preceding  letter.  It  might  have  been, — 
it  was,  a  turning-point  in  his  life-course.  Had  he  yielded, 
and  undertaken  an  exploration  of  Palestine  in  the  interests 
generally  of  natural  science,  and  particularly  of  Scripture 
botany,  his  entrance  upon  the  work  of  the  ministry  would 
have  been  postponed,  and  postponement  for  several  years 
at  that  period  of  his  life  might  have  injuriously  affected 
his  fitness  for  it  afterwards.  The  distinguished  professor's 
suggestion,  however,  bore  appropriate  fruit  at  length.  In 
his  riper  years  Hamilton  found  scope  for  his  inclinations, 
in  contributing  the  botanical  articles  to  Fairbairn's  BiUe 
Dictionary,  lately  published  by  the  Messrs.  Blackie  of 
Glasgow. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  many  of  our  readers  to  learn 
that  the  youth  whom  his  father  proposed  to  send  to  Pales- 
tine with  ]\Ir.  Hamilton  at  that  time  is  Dr.  Joseph  Hooker, 
the  eminent  naturahst,  who  explored  the  Antarctic  regions 
with  Sir  John  Eoss,  in  the  Erehus  and  Terror,  who  more 
lately  accomplished  a  scientific  tour  in  the  Western  Him- 
malayas,  and  who  last  year  was  President  of  the  British 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science. 

G 


98  CONTROVERSIAL  ACERBITY. 

By  this  time  the  controversy  regarding  tlie  lawfulness 

and  expediency  of  Established  Churches   had  begun  to 

exhibit  in  some  places  so  much  acrimony  that,  though  he 

still  maintained  his  side,  he  shrunk  with  aversion  from 

the  actual  combat. 

"50  George  Square,  Oct.  7,  1837. 

"  My  dear  Uncle, — Amongst  all  the  societies  that  are 
organizing,  would  it  not  be  worth  while  to  try  a  Peace 
Society,  of  wliich  all  should  be  members  who  thought 
Christianity  more  important  than  the  mode  of  its  propaga- 
tion, and  who  would  allow  men  to  differ  from  them  about  the 
need  of  Establishments  without  treating  them  as  enemies 
and  Antichrists  ?  If  all  were  of  ]\Ir.  Wilkie's  spirit,  there 
would  be  no  difference  between  Churchmen  and  Dissenters, 
and  they  would  have  something  else  to  do  than  backbite 
and  devour  one  another.  Whilst  they  are  displaying  their 
zeal  on  platforms,  and  gathering  the  applause  due  to  their 
heroic  speeches,  he  is  procuring  to  himself  a  better  recom- 
pense in  the  closes  and  dens  of  the  Grassmarket,  and 
when  he  emerges  to  the  light  again,  he  has  as  kind  a  word 
for  the  theoretical  Churchman  who  has  been  getting 
cheered  for  his  church-extension  harangues,  as  for  the 
Voluntary  champion  who  has  been  abusing  the  bloated 
ecclesiastics  for  allowing  their  flocks  to  perish  whilst 
clothing  themselves  with  the  wool." 

The  next  letter  is  addressed  to  his  fellow-student  Mr. 
Arnot,  who  was  then  acting  as  assistant  to  Mr.  Bonar  in 
the  parish  of  Larbert,  where  the  Carron  Ironworks  are 
situated,  and  where,  consequently,  a  great  proportion  of 
the  people  are  miners  and  ironfounders. 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  YEAR.  99 

"  50  George  Square,  December  13th,  1837. 

"  I  DO  not  SO  greatly  pity  you  with  your  swarthy  popu- 
lation. George  Whitfield,  preaching  to  the  colliers  at 
Newcastle,  marked  the  effect  of  his  sermons  by  the  white 
furrows  in  their  black  faces,  and  I  never  expect  to  have  a 
more  grateful  and  attentive  auditory  than  the  colliers' 
children  at  Easterhouse.  Som.e  evenings  in  the  Grass - 
market  make  these  look  like  golden  days.  Yet  truth  to 
tell,  the  Grassmarket  has  its  attractions,  and  last  Sabbath 
night,  when  Mr.  Wilkie  looked  in,  I  was  delighted  with 
the  answers  of  the  bairns. 

"  A  fortnight  ago  I  gave  in  to  Dr.  Welsh  an  essay  on 
the  importance  of  Church  History,  which,  betwixt  reading 
books  and  writing,  engaged  me  ten  or  eleven  weeks,  and 
has  left  me  very  learned  on  the  History  of  Creeds  and 
Systems  of  Divinity.  Do  you  think  it  will  get  the  prize  ? 
If  I  had  heard  Welsh's  lectures  three  years  sooner,  I 
should  have  studied  divinity  after  another  fashion.  This 
day  he  gave  us  in  an  hour  a  view  of  the  evidences  which 
would  have  been '  expatiated  on  in  a  fortnight's  lectureship ' 
had  it  entered  any  other  noddle." 

Instead  of  extracts  from  the  detailed  report  of  studies 
during  the  year,  we  submit  a  brief  summary  which  occurs 
at  the  close. 

"  During  1837  I  have  read  through  forty- three  volumes, 
and  more  or  less  of  other  books.  Have  read  the  Bible 
from  Genesis  to  Joel.  During  the  first  three  months 
attended  classes  three  hours  a  day,  and  for  the  last  six 
weeks  two  hours  a  day.     For  the  last  four  months  have 


100  THE  WORK  OF  THE  YEAR, 

read  Latin  and  Frencli  witli  my  sisters,  about  an  hour 
each  day.  Spent  May,  June,  and  July  attending  Sir  W. 
Hooker's  lectures  on  botany,  during  wliicli  time  I  tra- 
velled, chiefly  on  foot,  upwards  of  1000  miles  in  search  of 
plants. 

"  Besides  letters,  addresses,  minutes  of  societies,  etc.,  I 
have  written  a  sermon,  exegesis,  and  two  critical  exercises. 
Essays  for  societies — '  On  the  Development  of  the  Moderate 
Party  in  the  Church  of  Scotland,'  '  Natural  History  the 
appropriate  Recreation  of  a  Country  Manse,'  and  '  Eecent 
Travellers  in  Syria;'  and  for  Dr.  Welsh's  prize,  'The 
Importance  of  Church  History  in  a  Course  of  Theological 
Study.' 

"Every  Sabbath  evening  when  in  Edinburgh,  along 
with  William,  taught  in  the  Grassmarket  Sabbath-school." 

This  was  liis  last  session  at  college.  His  zeal  and 
energy  seem  to  increase  as  his  special  opportunities  are 
drawing  to  a  close.  The  appetite  grew  by  what  it  fed  on. 
It  is  already  evident  that  this  student  will  not  cease  to 
study  when  he  leaves  the  college.  The  "  sacred  thirst  for 
more"  is  here  a  passion  so  strong  that  it  will  certainly 
last  a  lifetime.  The  usual  congeries  of  accomphshed 
work  still  crowds  the  pages  of  his  day-book.  The  huge 
product  is  as  inexorably  demanded  as  the  tale  of  bricks 
by  Egyptian  slave-drivers.  In  this  case,  however,  liim- 
self  was  solo  driver  and  sole  slave  all  in  one.  In  still 
another  aspect  the  process  was  aE  the  world  different 
from  the  usual  results  of  slavery;  for  the  driver  was 
never  angry,  and  the  slave  was  never  sad.  There  was 
hard  driving,  but  no  tears  feU  on  the  lesson-book  in  that 


DR.  GREGORY.  101 

school,  where  one  gladsome  buoyant  spirit  was  both  mas- 
ter and  pupil. 

TO  MR.  AENOT. 

"1st  Feb.  1838. 

"  I  AM  happy  to  tell  you  that  your  kind  wishes  for  a 
good  New-year  took  effect,  in  so  far  that  on  the  second 
day  of  tlie  session  I  had  the  gratification  of  obtaining 
Dr.  Welsh's  Church  History  prize.  .  .  . 

"  I  spent  last  niglit  in  a  curious  house — Mrs.  Gregory's, 
the  widow  of  the  late  Dr.  Gregory,  of  famous  classical 
and  medical  memory.  His  great  practice  left  liis  family 
independent,  and  they  live  in  some  splendour.  But  what 
interested  me  most  was  the  MSS.  of  the  great  mathemati- 
cal Gregories,  his  ancestors.  There  were  four  of  them, 
and  one  of  them  professor  in  Oxford.  He  was  the  friend 
of  Newton,  and  for  the  first  time  I  saw,  in  the  author's 
hand^vriting,  the  first  draught  of  problems  that  made  the 
world  wonder  in  'The  Optics.'  To  say  nothing  of  fine 
paintings,  a  large  library,  the  bones  and  coffin-nails  of 
Eobert  Bruce,  and  a  conservatory  (where  there  was  only 
one  plant  in  flower),  I  could  have  got  a  week's  employ- 
ment in  looking  over  their  rarities,  and  a  month's  in 
listening  to  Mrs.  G.'s  stories  of  all  the  literati  of  Scotland 
within  the  last  half  century.  The  reason  of  my  being 
there  was  a  visit  to  my  friend  and  her  nephew,  John 
Mackenzie  of  Coul. 

"  I  am  not  ready  to  break  your  excellent  rules  anent 
early  rising,  or  rather,  early  going  to  bed.  But  when  I 
feel  perclidi  diem,  it  is  hard  to  lose  all  the  night  too ; 
e.g.,  last  Saturday  I  devoted  fourteen  hours  (something 


102  LITERARY  ENGAGEMENTS 

more  than  a  day,  as  days  go  at  present)  to  societies, 
friends,  etc.,  and  could  not  have  slept  without  a  peace- 
offering  to  myseK." 

A  note  in  the  day-book,  under  date  9th  ]March,  is 
interesting  as  being  his  first  regular  engagement  with  a 
publisher  for  other  than  periodical  papers  : — 

"  Began,  and  for  three  hours  wrote,  a  biographical  pre- 
face to  Hall's  Contemjjlations,  which  I  have  been  asked  to 
prepare  for  a  bookseller  in  town.  It  must  be  comprised 
in  thirty-two  octavo  pages,  according  to  a  sample  pro- 
duced. Is  not  this  to  be  a  bookseller's  hack  ?  However, 
I  did  not  ask  the  job,  and  greater  men  have  not  scorned 
the  Hke  employment." 

It  need  scarcely  be  remarked  now,  that  it  was  only  his 
own  inexperience  that  suggested  any  scruple  regarding 
this  transaction.  It  was  honourable  to  both  parties,  and 
useful  to  the  community.  It  reflects  credit  on  the  sagacity 
of  the  Messrs.  Nelson,  the  pubhshers  to  whom  he  refers, 
that  they  recognised  in  the  somewhat  soft-looking  juvenile 
student,  who  had  lately  come  to  Edinburgh,  some  faculty 
for  writing  the  biograpliies  of  ancient  worthies,  which 
might,  if  called  out,  be  of  eminent  service  both  to  its  pos- 
sessor and  its  employer.  The  two  parties  to  that  com- 
paratively small  transaction  have  since,  in  their  sej^arate 
lines,  run  parallel  courses  of  honour  and  usefulness.  Both 
the  author  and  the  pubhsher  occupy  a  larger  place  in  the 
pubKc  eye  to-day.  Afterwards,  in  the  years  1845-47,  the 
intercourse  thus  pleasantly  begun  was  renewed  and  ex- 
tended.    j\Ir.  Hamilton  contributed  brief  biographies  of 


WITH  MESSRS.  NELSON.  103 

John  Bunyan  and  Matthew  Henry,  to  accompany  selec- 
tions of  their  works  then  in  the  course  of  pubhcation  by 
Mr.  Nelson.  To  dig  in  these  Puritan  strata,  and  bring  up 
gems  of  personal  history  for  the  delight  and  instruction  of 
the  present  race  of  men,  was  James  Hamilton's  earhest 
love.  Although  he  met  a  rebuff  at  the  door  of  the  Tract 
Society  with  his  first  effort,  hke  a  true  hero  he  tried  again, 
and  tried  with  eminent  success.  It  cost  him  no  labour  to 
bring  himself  into  sympathy  with  the  Christian  worthies 
of  a  former  age.  Partly  through  j)arental  training,  partly 
through  mental  constitution,  he  found  liimself  spon- 
taneously in  sympathy  with  them,  as  soon  as  he  came  in 
contact  with  their  works.  His  exertions  in  tliis  depart- 
ment were  a  labour  of  love.  At  a  later  period  of  his  Hfe,  as 
we  shall  see,  he  returned  to  it  with  increased  fervour.  His 
faculty  was  indeed  in  this  respect  unique.  I  do  not  know 
any  other  man  who  was  equally  at  home  with  the  quaint 
piety  of  the  past,  and  the  general  culture  of  the  present, 
generation.  He  possessed  more  faculty  than  any  writer 
with  whom  I  am  acquainted,  to  bridge  over  the  chasm 
which  divides  the  seventeenth  from  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, and  show  substantial  truth  ever  the  same  under 
every  degree  of  circumstantial  difference. 

Some  additional  extracts  from  journals  and  letters  will 
stand  as  specimen  and  memorial  of  his  occupations  towards 
the  close  of  his  last  session  at  college  : — 

"February  lOth. — Alex.  Campbell's  essay  on  the  Mora- 
vians in  the  Missionary  Society  most  affecting  and  solem- 
nizing. Seldom  felt  more  the  obhgation  to  ask  '  Am  I 
willing  to  leave  mother,  and  brothers,  and  sisters,  and  home 


104  DR.  m'crie's  lectures. 

for  tlie  Gospel's  sake  ? '  Tliis  was  warmly  urged  in  the 
essay,  and  deeply  felt  by  the  auditory.  Mr.  Mitchell  and 
I  brought  forward  the  motion  anent  establishing  a  periodi- 
cal, wliich  was  readily  responded  to.  An  interesting,  and 
I  hope  eventful,  meeting,  which,  as  Leitch  said,  will,  I  hope, 
be  remembered  not  only  in  future  days  but  in  other  lands. 

"  Some  preachers  use  their  text  as  '  a  louping-on-stane.' 
If  by  help  of  it  they  can  only  get  mounted,  they  do  not 
care  how  far  they  go  from  it,  or  if  ever  they  see  it  again, 

"  Fchruanj  22. — The  Committees  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly's Schemes  have  agreed  to  publish  a  periodical,  no  doubt 
owing  to  the  application  from  our  College  Society." 

"\st  March  1838. 
"  I  USED  to  be  terrified  at  the  postman's  ring,  for  he  used 
to  bring  nothing  but  letters  of  business,  and  it  is  very 
seldom  that  a  letter  of  business  is  a  letter  of  friendship. 
Matters  have  so  far  improved  that,  if  my  heart  gives  a 
jump  now  at  his  impetuous  tintiuabular  onset,  the  first 
dunt  is  succeeded  by  a  delectable  fluttering  'twixt  hope 
and  anxiety,  in  which  the  influence  of  '  the  charmer ' 
{vide  Tom  Campbell)  predominates.  In  short,  then,  I 
was  in  the  lobby  last  night  when  the  plenipotentiary  of 
the  post-offlce  brought  your  letter,  and  an  invitation  for 
"Wilhe  to  his  namesake  the  Professor's.  My  being  in  the 
lobby  in  the  present  instance  was  preparatory  to  going 
out,  which  I  think  it  necessary  to  state,  lest  you  should 
suppose  that  I  was  coming  in.  But  to  proceed,  I  was 
going  to  hear  a  lecture  on  Church  History  by  the  Rev. 
Thos.    IM'Crie.      Said   lectures   are   usually   crowded.      I 


ATTACK  OF  SMALLPOX.  105 

hesitated  whether  I  should  recreate  myself  with  your 
epistle,  and  take  my  chance  of  standing  to  hear  the 
lecture,  when  the  wiser  alternative  prevailed.  I  planted 
myseK  in  the  corner  of  an  empty  pew,  and  read,  and  as 
I  read,  I  laughed,  and  as  I  laughed,  I  looked  up  and 
saw  some  people  looking  and  laughing  at  me,  ISTath- 
less  I  read  on  till  the  kirk  filled  and  the  minister 
came  into  the  pidpit  and  ended  the  sport.  These  lec- 
tures are  most  interesting,  as  I  have  stated  at  greater 
length  elsewhere  (provided  Dr.  Burns  has  put  my  notice 
into  his  Instructor  for  this  month) ;  and,  you  who  have 
got  Dr.  M'Turk's  prizes,  and  therefore  know  all  about 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  could  not  give  them  of  Larbert  a 
greater  treat  than  a  course  of  such  lectures.  If  a  spark  of 
national  feeling  linger,  nothing  can  do  more  to  provoke  a 
godly  emulation  of  our  fathers.  Did  I  ever  unfold  to  you 
a  scheme  which  I  have  cherished  so  long  that  it  is  a  ques- 
tion whether  it  or  I  shall  die  first,  viz., — to  get  up  the 
History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  something  on  the  plan 
of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  Talcs  of  a  Grandfather,  thereby  in- 
tending them  for  young  persons,  imprimis  ?  For  if  that 
history  could  be  learned  in  the  nursery  or  at  school,  it 
might  do  something  to  forestall  the  present  spirit  of 
indifference  or  hostihty  towards  our  Kirk,  and  perhaps 
something  more. 

"March  29th. — BondficU  the  above  was  written,  as  it  pro- 
fesses, a  month  ago.  Since  then  I  have  been  an  invalid  for 
three  weeks,  and  the  above  is  probably  symptomatic.  I  have 
had  an  attack  of  smallpox,  which  confined  me  to  bed  for  a 
fortnight,  and  has  made  me  very  weak,  but  done  no  other 


106  LITERARY  CONTRIBUTIONS. 

damage,  for  if  once  I  were  strong  I  will  be  as  beautiful 
as  ever. 

"  I  do  not  know  wliether  to  join  your  preachers'  strike 
against  canclidatesliip.  Have  you  any  feasible  scheme  to 
substitute  ?  For  the  blind-man's-buff  system  of  taking  a 
minister  on  recommendations  will  not  answer. 

"2d  March. — Wrote  and  read  five  hours  on  the  Gardens 
of  the  Ancient  Hebrews. 

"  A  few  friends  of  the  Missionary  Society  took  tea  with 
us.  Eesolved  to  write  to  Dr.  Duff  to  come  and  address 
the  students ;  also  to  cultivate  more  acquaintance  with 
the  Irish  students  in  the  hall,  who  have  not  met  with  the 
attention  and  kindness  due  to  strangers. 

"  6th  April. — Mr.  Nelson,  the  publisher,  paid  me  five 
pounds  for  my  life  of  Hall,  the  first  fruits  of  my  literary 
labour." 

To  this  another  short  entry  of  a  subsequent  date  should 
be  subjoined  as  the  natural  complement. — "  Sent  one  of 
my  five  pounds  to  be  divided  between  John,  Arthur,  and 
Mary  M'Gregor.  Should  I  ever  make  further  hterary  ear- 
nings, resolve  to  subject  them  to  a  similar  percentage." 
It  was  thus  that  he  chpt  the  wings  of  liis  riches  to  prevent 
them  from  flying  away. 

"  bth  May. — Says  a  worthy  friend,  '  There  is  but  one 
good  article  in  this  Presbyterian,  and  it  is  yours.'  '  I  am 
sorry  to  hear  it,'  say  I, '  for  I  have  two  articles  in  this  num- 
ber.'    He  was  kind,  and  I  was  rude,  but  unintentionally." 

Two  papers  in  one  number  of  the  Preshytei^ian  Review, 
during  the  session  of  college,  with  all  his  other  avocations, 
indicate  ah-eady  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer,  as  well  as  the 


VOYAGE  TO  LONDON.  107 

habit  of  an  eager  student.  Nor  was  tliis  all ;  another 
useful  periodical  of  that  day  profited  by  his  alacrity  and 
willingness,  as  appears  from  another  jotting  : — "  Friends  at 
breakfast.  Got  the  Glwistian  Instructor  and  the  Presby- 
terian Revievj  for  May,  with  certain  papers  in  them  which 
I  have  not  managed  to  read.  All  day  revising  my  Life  of 
Hall  for  a  new  edition." 

The  chief  event  of  this  summer  was  his  long  promised 
and  much  desired  visit  to  England.  In  the  family  of  his 
uncle,  the  pubhsher,  there  was  at  once  a  strong  attraction 
to  London,  and  a  means  of  turning  his  residence  there  to 
the  best  account.  The  journal  of  events  is,  as  usual, 
lively,  accurate,  and  full.  We  submit  a  few  extracts  to 
show  the  buoyant  spirit  of  the  youthful  traveller,  and  the 
sharp  loolv-out  which  he  kept  on  men  and  things  in  the 
great  metropolis.  He  read  actual  human  life  as  he  read 
books,  in  order  to  extract  knowledge  which  might  be 
stored  for  future  use. 

"Thursday,  May  llth,  1838,  7  p.m.— I  take  to  my 
journal  as  we  have  now  no  more  land  to  look  at,  but  are 
far  at  sea,  somewhere  off  the  coast  of  Lincoln.  It  was  after 
six  last  night  when  our  steam-sliip,  the  'Victoria,'  sailed 
from  Leith  roads,  and  since  then  she  has  been  skipping 
along,  with  the  help  of  a  side  wind,  from  nine  to  ten  knots 
an  hour.  The  meaning  of  said  knots  shall  presently  be 
explained,  wind  and  weather  permitting.  Tlie  Bass  was 
the  most  interesting  object  by  far  which  met  our  view 
before  it  grew  dark.  Eising  400  feet,  with  precipices  not 
only  perpendicular,  but  overhanging,  and  looking  down  on 
two  coasts  at  once,  and  the  many  islands  of  the  Firth,  from 


108  VOYAGE  TO  LOXDOX. 

Inchkeitli  to  ^lay,  witli  its  merry  men,  and  the  nearer 
but  singular  rocks,  Craigleitli  and  the  Lamb,  and  Fidra,  a 
huge  mass  of  trap  through  which  the  surge  has  formed  a 
natural  cavern  permeable  by  the  waves  from  side  to  side, 
as  if  intended  for  Xeptune's  triumphal  arch  ;  it  might  form 
a  fit  habitation  for  some  hermit  who  had  just  philanthropy 
enough  to  like  a  distant  -siew  of  the  haunts  of  men.  But 
the  Bass  has  seldom  been  a  habitation  from  choice,  except 
to  its  solan  geese,  who  were  aU  too  busy  sleeping  to  honour 
us  with  the  accustomed  salute. 

"  When  we  had  rounded  Berwick  Law,  the  breeze 
freshened,  and,  despite  the  exquisite  spirits  into  which  a 
comfortable  cup  of  tea  had  put  us,  pale  faces  began  to 
indicate  the  disquiet  of  their  owners.  Discretion  was  our 
valour,  and  at  ten  we  turned  into  our  beds.  "We  had 
secured  berths  near  the  centre  of  motion,  and  therefore 
felt  little  of  the  ship's  heaving.  But  I,  being  tallest,  was 
promoted  to  the  upmost  shelf  or  berth,  which,  though  near 
the  centre  of  noise,  was  very  noisy.  (Hence  the  laws  of 
sound  and  motion  can't  be  identical.  This  for  the  philo- 
sophers.) There  I  heard  in  great  perfection  every  Jicave- 
Jio  of  the  sailors  as  they  shifted  the  sails  each  time  that 
the  wind  varied,  and  that  might  be  once  an  hour ;  the 
pilot's  bell  to  announce  the  half  hour,  and  a  responsive 
bell  from  the  forecastle,  just  to  tell  the  pilot  that  they  had 
heard  liis  bell ;  the  tread  of  the  man  on  the  quarter-deck, 
and  the  pacing  of  squeamish  passengers  up  and  down, 
hoping  that  their  sickness  would  walk  off,  besides  the 
gurgle  of  the  waves,  the  splash  of  the  paddle-wheels,  the 
grinding  of  the  engines,  the  roar  of  the  furnaces,  and  the 


VOYAGE  TO  LONDON.  109 

creaking,  and  warping,  and  straining  of  timbers.  All  this 
without  a  storm  was  noise  enough  to  keep  me  long  awake. 
But  it  was  still  dark  when  I  fell  asleep,  nor  did  my  slumber 
break  till  daylight  had  extinguished  the  floating  hght  of 
our  cabin-lamp.  At  seven  I  lowered  myself  from  my 
perch,  put  on  my  coat,  which,  with  my  boots,  was  all  that 
I  had  taken  off,  and  stepped  on  deck.  The  sun  was  smihng 
on  the  face  of  the  ocean,  which  was  scarcely  ruffled ;  it  was 
only  dimpled,  as  if  smihng  back  again.  At  breakfast  no 
lady  was  forthcoming,  and  some  did  not  leave  the  roost  all 
day.  Yet  we  seldom  had  any  motion  beyond  the  solemn 
heave  of  the  vessel  under  the  propulsion  of  260  horse-power, 
and  the  fretful  jarring  of  the  over-strained  timbers.  .  .  . 

"  Eead  the  second  volume  of  Basil  Hall's  Frag7nents 
of  Voyages  and  Travels, — amusing,  egotistical,  and  exag- 
gerated, full  of  nautical  slang." 

Here  is  the  ruhng  passion  strong  in  the  sickly  tossings 
of  the  hissing  steamer,  as  in  the  sohtary  lodging  of  the 
student ;  he  must  be  devouring  a  book,  and  must  also  jot 
down  for  his  own  use  a  note  of  its  contents,  or  an  opinion 
of  its  worth. 

Passing  over  many  notices  of  the  city  and  its  citizens, 
take  one  which  points  to  his  own  favourite  pursuits.  From 
this  time  forth,  the  British  IMuseum  became  one  of  his 
favourite  haunts.  It  was  a  mine  of  gold  opened  at  his 
door. 

"  Thundered  alono;  in  an  omnibus  to  the  British  IMuseum, 
and  found  that  we  had  selected  the  only  day  on  which  it 
was  impossible  to  see  it.  With  Adam  ^Miite,  took  a  run 
to  the  Linnean  Society's  Ptooms  in  Soho  Square,  the  former 


110  INSTITUTIONS  IN  LONDON. 

residence  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks.  Saw  the  three  little  green- 
painted  presses  whicli  contain  the  herbarium  of  the  great 
Linnaeus,  sacredly  kept  as  he  had  left  them,  and  a  number 
of  similar  presses  filled  with  the  collections  of  Sir  James 
E.  Smith,  and  many  others.  Then  to  the  Zoological 
Society's  Eooms,  whose  museum  we  explored.  It  contains 
many  unique  specimens.  And  lastly,  to  the  Exliibition 
of  the  Eoyal  Academy.  This  year's  is  the  seventieth.  The 
painting  which  attracted  the  greatest  attention  was 
Wilkie's,  '  The  Queen  presiding  at  the  Council  on  her  Ac- 
cession to  the  Throne.'  This  was  executed  for  the  Queen 
at  her  own  command.  .  .  . 

"Turner's  landscapes,  gilt  over  with  sunsliine,  have  a 
pecuhar  effect,  which  is  almost  natural  in  the  banishment 
of  Ovid  from  Eome.  It  is  evening,  and  the  scene  floats  in 
such  radiance  as  the  prodigal  sky  of  Italy  pours  into  its 
Tiber.  The  landscape  is  set  off  with  all  those  attractions 
wliich  could  make  a  last  look  the  most  agonizing  to  a  poet 
who,  like  Ovid,  had  sensibihty  without  heroism,  and  could 
only  sing  with  Eome  in  his  eye,  or  in  his  memory.  Land- 
seer's  dogs  are  the  pink  of  canine  elegance  and  good 
breeding,  most  gentleman-looking  dogs." 

This  visit  was  his  first  sight  of  the  great  world.  It  is 
here  he  begins  to  find  the  use  of  his  classic  stores.  His 
acquisitions  and  tastes  will  put  more  meaning  into  one  of 
Turner's  landscapes,  and  more  meaning  into  many  other 
objects  that  must  pass  before  the  observer  in  the  mo\dng 
panorama  of  miscellaneous  life. 

A  visit  to  Oxford  is  briefly  sketched  in  a  letter  to  his 
sister. 


VISIT  TO  OXFOED.  Ill 

"St.  John's  College,  Oxon,  28th  May  1838. 
"  My  deak  Maey, — James  and  I  came  here  on  Friday. 
We  left  London  early,  so  as  to  give  ourselves  time  to  visit 
Windsor.  The  Queen  is  at  Buckingham  House ;  so  we 
had  the  range  of  the  state-rooms  unmolested.  They  are 
splendid.  The  hall  where  the  Knights  of  the  Garter  dine 
with  her  ]\Iajesty  on  great  occasions  we  particularly 
admired.  It  is  very  long,  and  very  lofty.  The  ceihng 
blazoned  with  the  arms  of  many  hundred  nobles  who  have 
won  the  blue  ribbon  in  their  day ;  and  the  walls  hung 
round  with  suits  of  armour  of  every  age  and  fashion.  In 
an  ante-room  are  many  busts  and  pictures  ;  that  of  Nelson 
has  for  a  pedestal  the  lower  part  of  the  '  Victory's '  fore- 
mast perforated  by  a  cannon  ball.  The  royal  chapel  is  a 
solemn  place,  surrounded  with  the  monuments  of  kmgs  and 
paved  with  their  tomb-stones.  The  marble  group  repre- 
senting the  death  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  is  the  most 
expressive  thing  I  have  seen  in  marble.  A  palace  is  to 
me  a  sadder  spectacle  than  a  graveyard  ;  for  the  study  of 
splendour  contrasts  mournfully  with  the  tokens  of  human 
weakness  and  evanescence.  Passed  through  Eton,  and  had 
the  prospect  wliich  inspired  Gray's  famous  ode,  but  we  did 
not  feel  poetical. 

"  Slough,  where  Sir  John  Herschel  has  just  taken  up 
his  residence  on  his  return  from  the  Cape,  and  where  his 
father's  enormous  telescope  lies  in  ruins.  Oxford  at  night. 
Took  lodgings  in  the  town  ;  but  take  our  meals  in  college. 
Wonderful  old  place.  Yesterday  heard  four  sermons,  and 
attended  five  churches  or  chapels.  Heard  the  Bampton 
Lecture,  and  James's   tutor  asked  us  to  dine  with  the 


112  EMINENT  PREACHERS. 

fellows  of  this  college,  where  I  sat  next  to  the  august 
lecturer ;  chatted  and  drank  wine  with  him,  and  thought 
of  him  and  some  other  of  the  big- wigs  as  the  old  woman 
did  of  the  judges.  I  have  not  yet  penetrated  the  entire 
mystery  of  caps,  gowns,  hoods,  and  surplices,  of  wliich 
there  are  at  least  twenty  combinations.  But  this  morning 
breakfasted  at  the  rooms  of  a  student  with  a  velvet  cap, 
which  interpreted  means  a  Gentleman  Commoner,  or  one 
who  spends  £200  a  year  additional  for  a  higher  seat  at 
chapel ;  and  a  youth  came  in  and  took  a  cup  of  coffee,  with 
a  gold  tassel  on  his  top,  wliich  proved  him  to  be  my  Lord 
Brooke,  eldest  son  of  the  Earl  of  Warmck.  A  college  life 
may  be  very  pleasant, — comfortable  rooms,  heaps  of  ser- 
vants, libraries,  lectures,  silver-plate  (for  here  every  trencher 
and  jug  are  solid  silver)  ;  but  I  do  not  like  the  un- 
coUegiate  distinction  of  velvet  and  gold  tassels.  Every 
one,  however,  looks  like  a  gentleman,  and  most  are  really 
such. 

"  In  London  I  heard  Melville,  but  was  much  more  in- 
terested with  Mr.  Newman  here.  He  is  suspected  of 
Popery  by  some,  but  is  a  High  Churchman  only.  I  have 
not  for  long  heard  a  sermon  so  affecting  or  so  impressively 
spoken.  He  is  doing  much  good  and  some  evil.  Love  to 
all,  from  yourseK  upwards  and  downwards, — Your  very 
affectionate  brother,  James  Hamilton." 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  the  estimate  formed  at  that 
time  of  ]Mr.  Newman  by  a  liberal  and  catholic,  but 
thoroughly  Protestant,  listener.  He  generously  aj^preciates 
the  good,  and  refuses  to  believe  in  aU  the  evil.     Alas  !  the 


EEY.  THOMAS  BINNIE.  113 

canker  liad  by  that  time  eaten  deeper  into  the  vitals  of  the 
Anglican  Church  than  good  men  were  willing  to  believe 
possible.  Since  that  time  the  leaven  of  Popery  has  spread 
so  widely  through  that  great  unmeldy  hierarchy  that  people 
begin  to  despair  of  reformation  in  any  other  way  than 
through  a  dissolution  of  the  body,  and  a  resurrection  from 
its  dust. 

"  June  StJi. — Afternoon  with  uncle  to  Hampstead  ; 
through  Lincoln's  Inn  and  St.  Pan  eras'  Church.  Beautiful 
Grecian  structure,  with  a  tower  copied  from  the  Temple 
of  the  Winds,  but  unpleasantly  hke  a  heathen  temple, 
with  its  cariatides,  etc. ;  cost  £80,000;  holds  2500.  Called 
at  West  End.     Dined  at  Mr.  Thorpe's. 

"June  9th. — British  Museum,  to  make  extracts  from 
some  books. 

"  Sctbbath,  June  10th.- — Mr.  Binney's,  Weigh-House. 
'  Signs  of  the  Times.'  Piemarkable  man.  The  jSnest  fore- 
head extant,  perhaps.  Forcible  language.  Factory  chil- 
dren '  defrauded  of  their  childhood.'  Fine  people  sighing 
over  the  negro's  oppression,  '  whilst  they  flaunted  about 
in  gay  clothing,  wet  with  the  tears  and  stained  with  the 
blood  of  their  infant  fellow-countrymen.'  '  Valleys  which 
once  awoke  only  to  the  voice  of  the  bird,  have  had  their 
echoes  disturbed  and  finghtenccl  by  the  rumble  of  machi- 
nery.' A  crowded  audience  of  the  most  respectable  and  in- 
teUigent  sang  the  closing  hymn  "with  an  enthusiasm  which 
promised  hearty  support  in  any  measure  to  wliich  the 
orator  might  urge  them.  Happily  this  sermon  was  an 
exception  from  his  ordinary  train  of  subjects.  Considers 
Dr.  Chalmers's  visit  to  London  auspicious  for  the  enemies 

H 


114  MR.  THOMAS  HAMILTON. 

of  Establishments.  A  lecturer  a  novelty ;  an  appeal  to 
public  reason  a  descent  from  the  haughty  eminence  once 
occupied  by  Churchmen.  Defended  on  grounds  which 
High  Church  of  England  men  will  have  cause  to  re- 
pent." 

This  is  thirty  years  since,  and,  through  God's  good  hand 
upon  him,  Mr.  Binney's  brow  is  still  erect,  and  the  brain 
it  holds  is  still  capable  of  taking  a  share  in  any  good  cause. 
The  concluding  note  regarding  the  defence  of  Church  estab- 
lishments, when  read  in  the  light  of  the  present  day,  is  a 
testimony  to  his  great  sagacity. 

"June  15th. — Along  with  Uncle  Thomas  got  away  by 
the  three  o'clock  coach  for  Brighton.  Travelled  ten  miles 
an  hour  regularly,  and  stopjDed  a  quarter  for  tea.  Uncle 
always  makes  a  point  of  taking  every  meal  when  travel- 
ling, whether  inclined  or  not,  for  the  encouragement  of 
people  who,  at  great  risk  and  inconvenience,  keep  their 
houses  open  for  the  public  accommodation.  And  on  the 
same  principle,  instead  of  calling  surlily  to  the  waiters, 
and  abusing  everything  brought  to  table,  he  praises  what 
he  can.  To-night  he  praised  the  butter,  and  it  deserved 
it.  This  certainly  is  in  a  better  spirit,  and  has  a  better 
effect  on  people,  than  what  jow  generally  hear  at  the 
common  table  of  a  hotel  '  Waiter,  have  these  fish  stood 
there  since  I  was  last  this  way  ?'  '  Have  you  boiled  these 
eQ;2;s  loner  enough  to  kill  the  chicks  inside  of  them  ? ' " 

The  eminent  bibliopole  of  the  Bow  carried  about  with 
him  a  true  and  noble  heart  in  mail-coaches  and  all  sorts 
of  conveyances.  This  practical  protest  in  favour  of  the 
injured  innkeepers  is  an  incidental  mark  of  a  noble  nature. 


BRITISH  MUSEUM.  115 

The  late  Arclibisliop  Wliately,  while  yet  a  youth,  made  a 
vigorous  and  successful  stand  on  the  side  of  a  deservin<T 
host,  on  the  way  between  Oxford  and  his  home — an  exploit 
which  he  recalled  with  pleasure  in  later  years. 

"  2fZ  Jidij. — British  Museum.  Got  from  Mr.  Children 
two  specimens  of  Ophrys  apifera  in  pots.  Linnsean  Society. 
Looked  over  botanical  books  in  the  library.  Sir  James 
Smith's  copy  of  Lightfoot's  Flora,  1781, 'Creech,  Edin. 
The  copy  of  Hudson's  Flora,  by  the  help  of  which  he 
learned  botany  ;  fuU  of  marginal  notes.  Linn?eus's  copies 
of  his  own  publications,  done  over  with  annotations.  Mr. 
Don  told  me  that  his  father's  letters,  etc.,  had  been  given 
to  Mr.  D—  in  Edinburgh,  for  the  purpose  of  %vriting  a  life, 
many  years  ago.     Eooms  of  the  Eoyal  Society. 

"  3fZ  Juhj. — All  forenoon  in  reading-room  of  British 
Museum.  Evening,  went  to  Surrey  chapel  Mr.  Sher- 
man did  not  preach,  but  instead  of  him  a  young  Irishman, 
in  a  black  stock,  with  a  style  as  florid  as  his  complexion." 

In  its  learned  societies  and  libraries  and  museums,  Lon- 
don has  immense  attractions  for  this  young  man.  The 
taste  he  has  obtained  during  this  visit  has  whetted  his 
appetite.  The  memory  of  these  botanical  and  antiquarian 
treasures  will  remain,  and  possibly  enter,  acknowledged 
by  himseK  or  unacknowledged,  as  a  make-weight  into  one 
scale  at  a  subsequent  date  when  he  is  invited  to  take  up 
his  residence  in  the  metropolis. 

At  Galleywood,  his  cousin's  curacy  in  Essex : — 

"Mh  July. — The  cottages  of  the  peasantry  are,  next  to 
the  ancient  parish  churches,  the  great  ornament  of  this 
part  of  the  country.     They  are  built  with  that  picturesque 


116  ENGLISH  COTTAGES — BR.  CUxMMING. 

disregard  of  system,  either  as  to  position  or  o.rcliitecture, 
which  produces  a  pleasing  effect  beyond  tlie  reacli  of  any 
system,  though  it  may  fail  to  give  the  greatest  possible 
accommodation  of  which  the  materials  are  capable.  Then 
there  are  the  flower-plots  before  each  door- step,  and  the 
rose-trees  festooning  with  their  fragrant  branches  every 
window  and  doorway,  with  vines  or  some  such  creepers 
on  the  gable-walls.  Whoever  has  seen  these  cottages,  and 
gets  a  parish  in  Scotland  put  under  his  care,  should  never 
rest  till  he  has  put  this  badge  and  instrument  of  morahty 
upon  the  homes  of  all  its  inhabitants.  For,  upon  the 
principles  of  Whitfield,  neatness  and  a  love  of  order  are 
the  signs  of  a  good  character,  and  on  the  principles  of  the 
Manse  Garden,  they  lead  to  it.  Mr.  Paterson,^  by  the 
way,  has  noticed  the  true  cause  of  that  romantic  and 
sylvan  appearance  which  English  scenery  usually  presents, 
making  every  parish  look  like  a  nobleman's  park.  The 
English  plant  less  than  the  Scotch.  There  are  few  woods 
in  England,  but  every  hedge-row  is  set  with  trees,  and 
these  answer  every  purpose  of  ornament  with  no  sacrifice 
of  land. 

"  Sahhath,  July  8. — Evening,  Scotch  Church,  Crown 
Court,  j\Ir.  Cumming.  Half  full,  plain  people,  and  a 
plainer  church.  Mr.  C.  had  a  good  lecture.  Very  absurd 
on  the  Temperance  Society.  Complained  of  his  people's 
irregularity  in  coming  late  to  church.  Did  not  understand 
why  people  should  be  so  well  conducted  in  the  Church  of 
England,  and  rude  in  the  Scotch  Church.  People  seemed 
heartless  ;  and  altogether  I  should  fear  that  Presbyterianism 

1  Rev.  Nathanifil  Paterson,  of  Glasgow,  author  of  the  Manse  Garden. 


SYDNEY  SMITH  IN  ST.  PAUL's.  117 

does  not  thrive  in  London.     I  question  how  far  it  is  worth 
while  to  struggle  for  its  lifeless  existence." 

This  casual  estimate  of  Presbyterianism  in  London  is 
worth  something  to  us  at  the  present  stage  of  our  progress. 
There  is  no  sign  of  prepossession  in  its  favour  here.  At 
tins  period  a  Scotch  pulpit  in  London  seemed  to  be  some- 
what of  a  forlorn  hope.  He  saw  the  nakedness  of  the 
land.  Probably  the  prospect  had  grown  a  'little  brighter 
when,  four  years  afterwards,  he  was  invited  to  take  part  in 
that  "struggle,"  but  even  then  it  required  not  a  little 
courage  to  encounter  the  anticipated  difficulties. 

"  Sahhath,  July  15th. — St.  Paul's  in  the  afternoon.  Syd- 
ney Smith,  very  good  (some  might  have  been  suspicious) 
on  pious  men  endeavouring  to  render  religion  attractive. 
Magnificent  anthem  from  1  Kings  viii..  Dedication  of  the 
Temple.  The  richest  and  most  full-toned  voice  I  ever 
heard,  one  of  the  choir,  '  The  heaven  of  heavens  cannot 
contain  Thee,  how  much  less  this  house  which  I  have 
l)uilded,'  brought  tears  profusely  into  some  eyes.  Whether 
occasioned  by  the  music  alone,  or  helped  by  the  considera- 
tion that  this  was  the  temple  of  England,  I  cannot  tell. 
Then  in  the  answer,  'And  God  said  unto  Solomon,'  as  the 
voice  seemed  to  draw  nearer  as  if  descending  from  above, 
the  effect  was  stupendous.  An  anthem,  by  Dr.  Boyce. 
This  is  in  the  mimetic  style  of  Handel's  Creation  of  Light, 
and   Chorus  of  Angels  to  the  Shepherds." 

"Edinburgh,  Sept.  3. 

"  My  dear  Uncle,  —Mary,  Andrew,  and  I  had  a  week's 
tour  to  St.  Andrews,  Dundee,  Perth,  and  Stirling.  At  the 
first- mentioned  place  I  could  not  but  feel  a  touch  of  your 


1  1  (S  ANCIENT  CHURCHES  IN  FIFE. 

indignation  at  tlie  iconoclastic  reformers.  To  see  nothing 
but  three  towers  (tottering  to  their  fall)  of  a  cathedral,  once 
the  largest  in  the  world,  and  whose  roof  of  burnished 
copper  once  shone  to  the  eye  of  pilgrims  like  the  gilded 
mosque  of  Omar;  and  see  cattle  feeding  on  the  altar- 
stone  hallowed  by  the  rehcs  of  St.  Andrew  the  apostle, 
almost  moved  me  from  my  right  mind.  But  it  would 
have  been  from  my  right  mind,  for  I  beheve  that,  after  all, 
'  the  dingin'  doon  o'  the  Cathedral'  helped  the  Eeforma- 
tion.  But  when  you  come  next  to  Scotland,  I  must  take 
you  for  a  few  days  to  do  the  churches  of  Fife,  some  ol' 
them  are  so  very  old — St,  Monance,  Crail,  Leuchars,  etc„ 
Some  of  them  retain  the  Episcopal  form  of  a  chancel 
behind  the  pulpit,  and  disposed  exactly  like  one  of  your 
own  parish  churches.  Above  all,  the  churcli  of  St.  Eule, 
built  A.D.  375,  and  to  whose  antiquity  you  can  scarcely 
find  a  match  in  England.  It  is  almost  as  sohd  and  homo- 
geneous as  a  rock.  We  chmbed  to  the  top  of  its  lofty 
tower,  which  is  unique  in  ecclesiastical  architecture,  being 
earher  than  Saxon,  and  had  a  noble  view.  I  say  we,  for 
there  were  the  families  of  three  ministers, — a  daughter  of 
Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  a  son  and  two  daughters  of  Dr. 
Lee,  and  ourselves.  At  Dundee  we  were  overwhehned 
with  kindness,  which  was  all  the  more  welcome  that  it 
was  conferred  not  for  our  own  sakes.  I  scarcely  thought 
that  so  much  feeling  could  have  outhved  thirty  years ; 
and  when  I  saw  the  church  and  people,  I  understood  how 
my  father  had  found  it  hard  to  leave  them." 

During  the  autumn  after  his  return  from  England,  he 


HIS  FIEST  SERMON.  119 

passed  tliroiigli  the  usual  trials,  and  was  licensed  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Edinburgh  on  the  11  th  of  October.  Some 
of  his  experiences  at  that  interesting  crisis  of  Ms  course 
have  been  preserved  in  a  letter  addressed  to  ]\Ir.  Arnot : — 

"  lOth  Octoher  1S3S. 

"  I  DO  not  know  (nor  do  you)  the  feehngs  of  a  young 
lady  when,  for  the  last  time,  she  subscribes  her  own  fair 
name  ;  but  I  feel  to-night  very  Hke  as  if  I  were  to  change 
my  name  to-morrow.  And  so  in  some  sense  I  will,  for  I 
must  forego  the  Esq.  with  which  the  courtesy  of  the  pre- 
sent age  has  so  long  honoured  me.  But  I  must  beware 
of  nonsense,  for  my  mood  is  not  so  nonsensical  as  usual 
to-night. 

'•'  Henry  Taylor  told  me  that  you  had  bespoken  my  first 
sermon.  Had  I  known  this  sooner  I  might  possibly  have 
availed  myself  of  the  permission  (indeed  I  did  know  sooner, 
for  Willie  gave  me  a  hint  about  it) ;  but  Dr.  Somerville, 
of  Drumelzier,  has  long  held  me  engaged  to  proceed  to  the 
top  of  the  Lammermuirs,  and  make  my  dehut  to  the  hun- 
dred shepherds  who  form  the  good  man's  pastoral  cure. 
He  was  an  old  friend  of  my  father,  and  it  was  in  that 
neighbourhood  that  my  father  began  his  labours  as  a  min- 
ister's assistant,  at  Broughton,  viz.  My  chief  objection  to 
the  Doctor's  pulpit  is  that  it  does  not  command  a  more 
extensive  prospect  than  the  desk  in  Mr.  Wilkie's  Grass- 
market  Schoolroom,  where  I  am  welcome  to  hold  forth 
any  Thursday  night,  so  that  a  regular  church  will  be  quite 
as  much  a  novelty  and  as  formidable  on  Sabbath  week  as 
it  would  be  on  Sabbath  first.  Then  my  second  and  third 
Sabbaths  are  pre-occupied,  and  that  which  follows  (the 


120  ILLNESS  OF  JAMES  HALLE Y. 

first  Sabbath  of  November)  is  our  Edinburgh  Sacrament, 
when  I  cannot  think  of  leaving  home.  But  any  day 
thereafter,  if  you  will  receive  me,  and  if  we  may  provide 
for  what  is  so  distant,  I  shall  be  exceedino;  glad  to  visit 
you,  and,  if  it  be  any  rehef,  to  bring  a  sermon.  Should  it 
be  the  day  when  you  supply  Dunipace,  so  mucli  the  better, 
as  it  is  the  smaller  church, 

"  There  is  one  thing  which  has  been  very  much  in  my 
thoughts  for  some  days.  Had  Halley's  health  been  spared 
he  would  by  this  time  have  been  a  year  a  preacher.  You 
yourself  have  been  rather  more.  I  remember  one  Thurs- 
day in  September  of  last  year  when  he  came  here  from 
Glasgow  to  consult  Ahson.  He  was  very  ill,  and  had  de- 
layed his  coming  for  a  day  that  he  might  see  you  licensed. 
At  that  time  you  were  uppermost  in  his  thoughts,  and 
oftenest  in  his  conversation.  I  do  not  think  that  we  can 
ever  hope  for  a  more  ardent  friend,  and  one  every  way  so 
valuable.  I  am  sure  /  cannot,  and  at  this  moment  I 
almost  feel  as  if  I  was  doing  a  wrong  thing  in  taking 
license  when  he  is  quite  disabled  for  it,  so  very  strange 
does  it  seem  that  I  should  be  a  preacher  before  him.  Last 
jMonday  I  heard  that  ]\Ir.  Eoss,  an  Edinburgh  physician, 
who  goes  to  INIadeira  yearly,  had  sent  word  to  Mrs.  Eoss 
that  he  found  Halley  considerably  worse  on  his  arrival 
three  weeks  ago.  Have  you  had  any  word  from  his  Glas- 
mw  friends  ? 

"  Smeaton  has  been  assistant  at  North  Lcith  for  six 
weeks,  and  has  refused  Morningside. 

"  I  do  not  know  how  you  felt  it,  but  I  find  it  extremely 
difficult  to  write  sermons  with  sufficient  plainness  and 


DEATH  OF  HIS  SISTER  MARY.  121 

seriousness  so  long  as  I  have  no  settled  charge,  and  with- 
out making  thought  and  style  the  cliief  considerations.  It 
shows  a  vanity  and  disingenuity  which  I  would  not  at  one 
time  have  suspected,  for  I  have  always  thought  myseK 
honest  in  the  main.  And  yet,  after  all,  I  think  I  could 
forego  reputation  for  the  certainty  of  doing  good.  I  agree 
with  you  that  the  system  of  candidateship  is  very  bad,  as 
it  withdraws  a  preacher's  thoughts  from  the  main  end  of 
his  office.  Have  you  foimd  a  substitute  for  it  by  wdiich  we 
who  have  no  patrons  may  become  ordained  ministers  ?  I 
hope  to  spend  this  evening  quietly,  for  so  I  have  scarcely 
spent  the  day,  but  could  not  help  it.  It  is  other  people, 
and  not  myself,  that  spend  my  days." 

"Edixeurgh.  Nov.  27,  1838. 

"  Dear  Mrs.  Vetch, — You  wiU  remember  the  Friday 
evening  which  you  last  spent  here.  I  always  shall.  We 
little  thought  that  Mary's  pale  looks  that  night  were  the 
be2:inuing  of  her  last  illness.  The  first  week  I  had  no 
fear  ;  but  on  the  Monday  evening  before  her  death,  I  re- 
turned from  Larbert,  where  I  had  been  preaching,  and  was 
uneasy  at  finding  her  no  better.  At  the  same  instant  I 
heard  of  the  death  of  John  INIackenzie,  and  a  depression 
came  over  me,  from  which  I  could  not  recover,  thoufrh  I 
did  not  then  know  that  Mary's  was  the  same  complaint. 
Nor  was  it  till  the  Saturday  night  that  Dr.  Huie  appre- 
hended danger.  She  herself  was  probably  never  aware  of 
the  hkely  termination  of  her  trouble,  nor  was  it  needful  or 
desirable  that  she  should.  Now  that  she  is  taken  from  us, 
I  cannot  but  feel  that  it  was  the  kindness  of  God  which 


122    DEVELOPMENT  OF  HIS  SISTER's  CHARACTER. 

selected  from  our  number  tlie  one  who  was  ready.  She 
has  left  us  at  the  tune  when  she  was  becoming  most  in- 
teresting. Her  want  of  strength  had  been  a  great  draw- 
back to  her.  It  made  her  very  incapable  of  exertion,  left 
her  little  spirit  for  conversation,  and  damped  the  ardour  of 
her  mind.  But  soon  after  my  return  from  England,  I 
saw  a  great  alteration.  Her  health  and  sprightliness  were 
returning.  She  was  taking  a  charge  of  the  household 
arrangements,  and  had  apphed  to  her  studies  with  fresh 
spirit.  This  told  on  the  development  of  her  mind ;  and 
during  our  short  trip  to  St.  Andrews,  etc.,  I  was  surprised 
and  dehghted  at  the  amount  of  her  intelhgence  and  saga- 
city  and  information.  Her  deep  feeling  I  had  always 
been  aware  of.  But  from  that  time  I  regarded  her  in  a 
new  light,  and  felt  that  she  was  a  wise  companion,  as  well 
as  an  amiable  sister ;  and  if  I  wanted  any  one  to  accom- 
pany me  in  a  walk  I  was  glad  if  I  could  secure  her.  When 
I  was  tired  of  reading  or  writing,  I  would  go  into  the 
dining-room  and  interrupt  her  at  the  piano,  and  we  would 
spend  a  lively  hour  in  the  Meadows,  but  iiow  I  sit  here  all 
day  and  hear  that  music  no  more.  I  do  not  know  how  it 
is  with  others,  but  I  feel  as  if  I  and  my  young  friends 
never  had  such  reason  to  be  thoughtful  as  at  this  season, 
when  so  many  young  persons  are  sick  and  dying.  When 
we  are  so  soon  to  leave  the  world,  it  is  the  best  kindness 
which  we  can  show  to  one  another  to  try  and  secure  a 
happy  meeting  on  the  other  side  of  time.  If  we  love  the 
blessed  Saviour  we  cannot  too  soon  be  with  Him  ;  but  till 
then  we  are  not  fit  to  die.  There  is  a  book  which  I  am  at 
present  reading,  and  if  you  have  not  met  with  it,  I  think 


r.E!SlGNATION  OF  APPOINTMENT  TO  MOENINGSIDE.    123 

you  would  like  it  also.  It  is  Doddridge's  Rise  and  Progress 
of  Religion  in  the  Soul.  It  is  a  book  which  requires  to  be 
read  at  leisure.  It  is  fuU  of  useful  suggestions,  and  is 
written  with  great  earnestness,  and  has  done  more  good 
than  almost  any  work  I  know.  If  you  have  not  got  it, 
and  would  like  to  read  it,  I  should  be  very  happy  to  send 
you  one  of  my  copies,  for  I  happen  to  have  three.  As  the 
affairs  of  INIorningside  Church  have  got  for  the  present  into 
great  coufusion,  I  have  agreed  to  become  l\Ir.  Candlish's 
missionary,  in  the  place  of  John  Mackenzie,  who  is  going 
to  Dunkeld.  This  wiU  not  be  so  difficult  to  a  beginner  as 
a  parish  and  a  church.  How  do  you  hke  your  new 
minister  ? 

"  Mr.  Wilkie  is  very  iU  with  fever.  He  has  been  under 
it  for  a  week,  and  has  not  yet  got  the  turn." 

TO  Ml!.  AENOT. 

"December  3lsf,  1838. 

"  You  heard  rightly  that  I  had  accepted  Morningside, 
and  yet  I  am  not,  and  never  wiU  be,  its  minister.  Had  I 
adhered  to  my  acceptance,  I  would  have  been  settled  in  the 
most  dehghtful  of  all  the  new  churches  in  Scotland,  but 
it  would  have  brought  before  the  public  an  angry  alterca- 
tion which  had  been  going  on  amongst  some  good  men, 
not  to  their  credit.  And  in  such  cases  the  occasional  cause 
of  the  evil  is  sure  to  be  considered  a  party.  I  am  much 
happier  where  I  am  than  I  could  have  been  for  the  next 
twelve  months  in  Morningside,  with  a  pamphlet,  and 
newspaper,  and  presbytery  controversy  about  my  induc- 
tion, and  all  this  I  had  certain  knowledge  would  ensue.    I 


124  BEREAVEMENTS. 

withdrew  my  acceptance,  and  Mr.  Grant^  having  with- 
drawn from  being  a  candidate,  George  Smeaton  will  be 
elected  to-day,  and,  I  am  happy  to  say,  wiU  accept.  My 
withdrawment  has  brought  ujDon  me  the  resentment  of 
my  supporters,  but  when  Smeaton  settles  among  them 
they  will  be  thankful.  .  .  . 

"  I  have  come  to  see  that  a  sermon  will  not  be  well 
delivered,  that  it  will  not  even  interest  the  audience,  much 
less  do  any  good,  unless  it  has  been  the  subject  of  much 
prayer  beforehand.  For  the  want  of  this,  two  or  three 
discourses,  which  I  thought  my  best,  have  proved-  such 
failures  that  I  have  no  heart  to  look  at  them  any  more.  .  .  . 

"  This  year  closes  darkly  on  me.  It  is  not  only  that 
loss  of  which  you  already  know,  and  which  you  understand 
so  well,  but  in  Mr.  Wilkie  I  have  lost  the  friend  here  who 
was  a  father  and  a  counsellor,  and  that  at  the  very  time 
when  I  most  needed  a  good  adviser,  the  elasticity  of  my 
own  spirits  being  broken,  and  difficult  matters  requiring 
.serious  deliberation.  I  feel  for  his  family  ahnost  as  much, 
perhaps  more,  than  for  our  own." 

The  event  to  which  he  alludes  as  having  caused  the  year 
to  close  darkly  over  him,  was  the  death  of  his  sister  jNIary, 
on  the  5  th  of  November.  Grave,  gentle,  retiring,  she 
drooped  and  withered,  and  was  removed  in  her  nineteenth 

1  Minister  of  the  Free  Churcli  at  Ayr.  A  .sharp  conflict  of  opinion  took 
place  among  certain  grave  and  eminent  men,  members  of  the  congregation,  on 
the  choice  of  a  minister  ;  Init  tlie  blame,  whatever  may  have  been  its  amount, 
lay  entirely  with  themselves,  for  the  bearing  of  the  two  young  ministers  was 
noble  throughout.  Perfect  friendship  between  themselves,  a  wise  reticence, 
and  a  frank  retirement  gave  promise  early  of  what  became  the  ultimate  result 
Ln  either  case,  viz.,  an  ajiprojiriate  sphere  and  an  honouralde  ministry. 


ST.  George's  mission".  125 

year.  Very  strong  and  tender  were  the  bonds  that  knit 
the  whole  family  together;  correspondingly  severe  were  the 
pangs  of  parting.  But  in  each  of  tliese  successive  bereave- 
ments the  survivors  were  cheered  in  their  sorrow  by  the 
well-founded  and  well-defined  hope  of  immortaht}^,  which 
threw  a  halo  round  the  parting  scene.  The  grief  caused 
by  breaches  in  a  family  who  are  united  in  the  Lord  is  as 
deep  as  any  other  grief,  but  there  is  a  softness  in  it  wliich 
is  peculiar  to  itself  The  sorrow  is  all  there,  but  the 
burning  has  been  taken  out  of  it. 

As  soon  as  he  had  obtained  Hcense,  he  was  engaged  by 
Mr.  CandHsh  and  the  Session  of  St.  George's  to  conduct 
their  district  mission  in  Eose  Street.  As  there  was  only 
one  meeting  for  public  worship  every  Lord's  day  in  the 
mission  station,  he  enjoyed  occasional  opportunities  of 
preaching  in  the  various  churches  of  the  city.  He  had 
now  attained  the  consummation  of  his  long  cherished 
desire — the  liberty  of  proclaiming  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ.  He  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties 
with  characteristic  zeal.  He  held  his  caUing  in  the  highest 
honour ;  he  magnified  his  office,  while  he  humbled  himself. 
From  his  childhood  he  cherished  an  ardent  love  of  this 
work,  and  he  loved  it  to  the  end.  Here  is  the  commence- 
ment of  a  ministry  that,  through  God's  grace,  will  never 
slacken,  and  never  waver,  until  the  minister,  wearied  and 
weakened,  shall  be  summoned  by  the  Master  to  "  come  up 
higher." 

"Jan.  7,  1S39. 
"  Deae  MPvS.  Vetch, — Your  very  kind   and   welcome 
letter  deserved  an  earlier  answer.      Once  upon  a  time,  the 


12G  NOTES  OF  HIS  EXPERIENCE 

more  I  did,  the  more  I  was  able  to  do.  Bat  this  is  not 
the  case  at  present.  When  the  day's  work  is  done,  instead 
of  sitting  down  to  write  sermons  and  letters,  etc.,  I  am 
glad  to  rest  myself  over  a  book,  or  talking  with  a  friend. 
I  haK  suspect  there  is  some  laziness  in  this,  though  there 
is  something  of  weariness  also.  But,  be  it  what  it  may,  I 
must  reform,  or  make  up  my  mind  to  lose  my  correspond- 
ents, a  loss  which  I  cannot  afford.  Perhaps  you  have 
heard  that  I  have  become  Mr.  Candlish's  assistant,  or  more 
properly  the  St.  George's  missionary.  Most  of  my  work 
consists  in  visiting  the  inhabitants  of  Eose  Street,  of  whom 
there  are  nearly  3000.  I  do  not  meet  with  many  in  abject 
poverty,  as  would  be  the  case  were  my  diocese  in  the 
Cowgate  or  Grassmarket,  but  there  are  many  families 
quite  wretched  from  the  dissipation  of  the  fathers,  and  the 
heart-broken  tawdriness  of  the  mothers.  The  poorer  people 
are  in  great  part  street-porters  and  hostlers.  They  are  for 
the  most  part  improvident,  and  their  children  ill-educated. 
I  find  it  extremely  difficult  to  induce  them  to  send  the 
younger  children  to  the  infant  school.  That  school  is 
quite  a  pet  with  me ;  but  the  parishioners  see  no  use  in 
it,  as  the  scholars  in  a  day  school  will  learn  as  much  reading 
in  a  twelvemonth  as  the  infantry  do  during  the  three 
years  of  their  attendance.  Perhaps  it  is  also  against  it 
that  the  teacher  is  so  young,  for,  though  admirably  fitted 
for  the  purpose,  she  has  quite  a  girlish  appearance ;  the 
very  contrast  to  the  severe  and  spectacled  dames  who 
taught  the  Hornbook  to  our  grandpapas.  Amongst  many 
bad,  and  some  indifferent,  I  have  met  with  a  few  excellent 
people,  and  I  have  marked  their  houses  '  that  I  may  go 


IN  MISSIONARY  WORK.  127 

back  and  refresh  myself  from  time  to  time,  when  wearied 
of  more  irksome  work.'  To-day  I  was  visiting  a  very  in- 
teresting boy,  who  is  dying  of  consumption,  at  the  age  of 
sixteen.  It  was  my  third  visit,  and  he  cannot  live  to 
receive  many  more.  His  information  is  remarkable,  and 
the  first  time  I  saw  him  I  was  struck  with  the  amount  of 
reading  which  casually  appeared  in  his  conversation.  This 
may  have  in  some  measure  been  owing  to  his  employment, 
for  he  was  learning  to  be  a  book  printer.  But  his  warm 
and  intelligent  and  manly  piety  was  what  above  all  things 
dehghted  me.  To-day,  he  told  me  that,  from  what  he  felt 
in  liimseK,  his  time  could  not  be  long  now ;  '  but  the  nearer 
it  comes  I  feel  always  the  happier ;  I  wish  I  could  tell 
the  joy  that  I  feel ! '  He  said  tliis  with  a  voice  and  a 
smile  so  natural  and  so  expressive  that  I  could  not  doubt 
that  it  was  really  what  he  felt,  but  I  asked  him  what  gave 
liim  such  joy.  He  said  that  he  could  not  tell  how  it  came 
into  his  mind,  but  that  tlie  passage  on  which  he  rested 
most  was  the  saying  ,  '  Whoso  calleth  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  the  same  shall  be  saved.'  Here  he 
misquoted  a  word,  showing  that,  as  he  said  himself,  his 
memory  of  texts  was  giving  way,  but  the  spirit  of  the 
passage  is  in  the  Bible.  He  said  many  things  which  made 
me  wonder  at  his  attainments,  and  envy,  or  at  least  rejoice, 
in  his  happiness." 


OHAPTEE   III. 

MINISTRY  AT   ABERNYTE. 

Early  in  1839,  about  three  montlis  after  tlie  commence- 
ment of  liis  mission  work  in  Edinburgh,  Mr.  Hamilton 
received  and  accepted  an  invitation  to  be  assistant  mini- 
ster in  the  parish  of  Abernyte,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Dun- 
dee. The  circumstances  connected  with  this  appointment, 
wliile  strikingly  providential  on  their  higher  side,  are  on 
their  lower  side  C[uite  romantic.  The  late  Mr.  Nairne  of 
Dunsinane,  a  proprietor  in  the  parish  of  Collace,  a  gentle- 
man of  high  social  position  and  distinguished  Christian 
character,  enjoying  the  rich  evangelical  ministry  of  INIr. 
Andrew  Bonar  in  his  own  church,  benevolently  interested 
liimseK  in  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  neighbouring 
parish  of  Abernyte.  The  incuuLbent  was  aged  and  infirm  ; 
the  congregation  had  melted  away  to  a  handful ;  the 
people  were  scattered  as  a  flock  without  a  shepherd. 
Having  obtained  from  the  minister  and  other  parties  in- 
terested a  kind  of  unofficial  yet  substantially  authentic 
commission  to  look  out  for  a  suitable  assistant,  Mr.  Nairne 
betook  himself  to  the  metropolis,  in  prosecution  of  his 
delicate  and  important  errand.  On  the  Sabbath  he  went 
to    worship   in   St.    George's.      Instead   of  the   eminent 


THE  MINISTER  OF  THE  PARISH.  129 

preacher  who  then  was,  and  still  remains,  minister  of  the 
congregation,  a  youth  entered  the  pulpit,  slender  in  form, 
and  somewhat  awkward  in  gait  and  gesture.  By  the 
opening  prayer  the  Christian  country  gentleman  was 
carried  into  the  holy  of  holies.  As  soon  as  the  devotions 
were  closed,  and  he  had  regained  his  sight, — for  he  was 
blind  with  weeping, — he  ejaculated,  "  This  is  the  minister 
for  Abernyte."  No  time  was  lost.  Inquuies  subsequently 
made  confirmed  first  impressions,  and  it  was  forthwith 
arranged  that  ]\Ir.  Hamilton  should  preach  at  Abernyte, 
in  the  first  instance  by  way  of  feeler,  to  give  Mr.  Wilson 
and  his  people  a  specimen  of  his  gifts.  The  minister,  a 
kind  and  hospitable  old  gentleman,  with  an  old-fashioned 
spencer  above  his  coat,  and  an  old-fashioned  wig  on  his 
head,  received  the  stranger  with  hospitality  at  the  manse 
on  his  arrival  from  Edinburgh,  and  manifested  towards 
him  ever  after  a  sincere  and  increasing  affection.  Of 
nervous  temperament,  and  shy  towards  strangers,  Mr.  "Wil- 
son, notwithstanding,  was  not  long  in  getting  over  the 
prehminaries,  and  admitting  the  new  inmate  of  the  manse 
to  a  position  of  familiar  friendship.  As  a  result  and  a 
proof  of  his  growing  confidence,  he  placed  all  his  manu- 
scripts at  the  disposal  of  his  assistant,  saying,  as  he  pointed 
to  the  receptacle  which  contained  his  treasures, "  ]\Iy  dear, 
these  are  my  sermons ;  I  give  them  to  you ;  I  have  no 
further  use  for  them ;  make  what  use  of  them  you  please  ; 
they  mil  be  of  use  to  you."  I  do  not  know  what  answer 
Mr.  Hamilton  gave  to  this  queer  proposal,  but  in  dechning 
the  offer  he  would  no  doubt  take  care  to  let  his  venerable 
friend  softly  down.     At  this  time,  and  for  long  after,  the 

X 


130  CLASSES  FOR  THE  YOUNG. 

minister  took  it  for  granted  that  his  assistant  would 
become  his  successor.  His  estimate  has  been  preserved 
in  a  letter  written  some  months  later  by  one  who  knew 
all  the  parties  : — "  Yesterday  I  was  at  the  manse,  but  did 
not  see  IVIr.  Hamilton,  as  he  was  at  a  funeral.  I  had  a 
nice  chat  with  good  old  Mr.  Wilson,  I  never  felt  such 
an  affection  for  Mm  before ;  he  could  not  speak  of  Mr. 
Hamilton  without  emotion ;  liis  heart  seemed  quite  over- 
flowing with  love  and  gratitude  to  him.  He  spoke  of  his 
numberless  qualities,  the  great  comfort  he  had  in  him,  his 
condescending  kindness  to  himself,  and  his  sliining  piety 
and  talents.  He  said  a  college  friend  of  Mr,  Hamilton's 
had  visited  him  on  Monday,  of  whom  Mr,  H.  had  a 
liigh  opinion.  He  conducted  family  worship,  but,  says 
Mr,  Wilson,  it  was  not  to  be  compared  to  IVIr,  Hamilton's. 
During  this  conversation  the  tears  were  dropping  from 
the  worthy  old  man's  eyes." 

He  began  his  ministry  in  Abernyte  about  the  middle 
of  February.  The  people  of  the  parish  and  neighbour- 
hood soon  became  interested  in  his  preacliing.  The  con- 
gregation rapidly  increased.  On  March  13th,  writing  to 
his  brother,  he  says, — "  I  am  still  new  enough  to  bring 
out  a  good  congregation.  Though  the  snow  was  pretty 
deep,  a  number  of  people  came  up  last  Sabbath  from  Inch- 
ture.  The  people  are  remarkably  attentive,  but  I  fear 
novelty  may  account  for  most  of  it." 

No  sooner  had  he  begun  his  ministry  in  this  place  than 
he  fixed  his  attention  on  the  young  with  the  steadiness 
and  strength  of  an  instinct,  A  class  was  invited  to 
assemble  in  the  church  on  Sabbath  afternoon,  and  the 


TABLE-TALK.  131 

■whole  parish  was  canvassed  for  young  persons  above  the 
age  of  fifteen.  A  fair  beginning  was  immediately  made, 
and  the  work  went  on  increasing  both  in  breadth  and 
depth.  A  part  of  the  time  was  occupied  with  examina- 
tion, and  part  by  a  famihar  lecture.  It  was,  for  work 
hke  this,  a  virgin  field  ;  and  the  workman  possessed  rare 
talents  for  its  cultivation.  Good  fruit  began  to  appear. 
Old  and  young  were  interested.  Already  the  ardent 
teacher  perceives  "some  hopeful  faces."  His  desire  for 
such  a  sight  doubtless  went  far  to  produce  it.  The  hearts 
of  his  youthful  audience  were  kindled  at  his  fire.  He 
looked  to  this  class  "  as  the  thing  Hkely  to  do  most  good," 
and  he  did  not  look  in  vain. 

Some  lively  notices  appear  in  the  letters  of  tliis  period 
regarding  the  table-talk  of  the  manse,  where  the  old 
minister  and  his  helper  were  the  only  interlocutors. 
Though  very  affectionate  and  fatherly,  Mr,  Wilson  holds 
fast  by  his  own  opinions,  and  defends  them,  even  when 
they  are  of  doubtful  orthodoxy,  with  extraordinary  perti- 
nacity. At  one  time  he  holds  a  spoonful  of  porridge  in 
transit  between  the  dish  and  his  mouth  for  a  full  half- 
hour,  until  he  has  finished  a  dispute  on  the  doctrine  of 
reprobation.  At  another  he  consumes  ten  minutes  in  the 
process  of  pouring  out  a  cup  of  tea  for  liis  thirsty  helper, 
because  that  helper  will  not  concede  to  him  that  the  moon 
has  nothing  to  do  with  the  tides. 

To  his  brother  he  writes,  8th  April  1839  : — "This  is  a 
bright  day  after  many  dark  ones.  Our  three  cats  are 
very  happy  in  the  sun — for  we  have  three  cats, — but 
owing  to  the  vigilance  of  the  gamekeepers  the  term  of 


132  LASSITUDE  AFTER  LABOUR. 

feline  longevity  is  greatly  abridged  in  tliis  part  of  tlie 
world,  and  vacancies  are  constantly  occurring  in  Mr.  Wil- 
son's rat-police  establishment.  A  Monday  is  a  day  of 
idleness  with  me.  I  cannot  fall  soon  asleep  on  a  Sabbath 
night ;  and  though  I  lie  in  bed  till  half -past  eight  on 
Monday  morning,  I  am  tired  till  evening.  My  class  now 
numbers  twelve  young  men  and  fifteen  young  women.  I 
have  got  hold  of  all  the  unmarried  farm-servants  except 
three,  and  these  I  hope  to  secure  in  time. 

"  I  Avill  go  to  Dundee  some  day  after  "William  Burns 
arrives.  He  is  one  of  the  right  spirit ;  and  a  little  sharp- 
ening on  such  an  iron  as  his,  is  what  I  greatly  want  and 
long  for." 

Already  the  waste  caused  by  nervous  prostration  has 
begun.  It  need  not  be  denied  that  when  the  spirit  within 
is  highly  sharpened,  it  is  apt  to  cut  deeply  into  its  cor- 
poreal sheath.  If  members  of  the  clerical  profession  be 
good  subjects  for  an  insurance  society,  it  must  be  under 
the  provision  that  they  should  not  be  over-earnest  in  their 
work.  A  race  like  that  which  James  Hamilton  now 
began  to  run  does  tend  to  take  the  breath  away,  and 
shorten  the  runner's  days.  AATieii  an  eager  spirit  is  asso- 
ciated with  a  fragile  frame  we  need  not  look  for  longevity. 
But  what  this  life  may  lack  in  length,  it  will  make  up  in 
brightness.  If  it  fly  like  a  shuttle  through  its  appointed 
course,  it  will  throw  off  many  streaks  of  heavenly  light  as 
it  threads  its  way  through  the  world. 

"  Abernyte,  April  14,  1839. — Never  felt  such  up-hill 
work  in  committing  a  sermon  as  yesterday.  Bodily 
languor  got  the  blame,  but  not  earnest  enough  in  praying 


NOTES  OF  MINISTERIAL  WORK.  133 

for  assistance  in  that  particular  tiling.  Lay  down  very- 
anxious — all  the  more  so  as  the  church  would  hkely  be 
full,  the  Seceders  having  no  sermon.  This  morning  prayed 
often  and  earnestly  to  be  helped,  and  set  above  the  fear 
of  man,  and  particularly  the  love  of  applause,  and  I  trust 
was  heard  and  helped,  for  I  felt  unusual  freedom;  re- 
membered all  that  I  had  tried  to  commit,  and  the  part 
which  I  had  not  came  almost  as  good  as  the  MS.  Church 
very  full.     Eph.  v.  14." 

"April  IGth. — The  passage  in  my  preaching  hitherto 
which  seems  to  have  produced  the  greatest  impression  was 
a  mere  description  on  John  xiii.  1.  Several  have  spoken 
of  it ;  and  I  remember  seeing  a  grown  man  shedding  tears 
abundantly — the  first  time  I  made  a  man  cry.  But  the 
truly  practical  and  most  touching  part  of  all — the  love  of 
Christ,  on  which  I  extemporized  at  the  close  with  some 
w^armth,  produced  no  perceptible  effect.  Natural  feehng 
and  spiritual-mindedness  are  not  identical." 

"Abernyte,  AprillSth,  1839. 

"My  deae  William, — Few  things  have  dehghted  me 
more  than  the  envelope  of  your  Edinburgh  Advertiser. 
I  have  nothing  more  to  wish  for  you  on  the  score  of 
prizes,  unless  it  be  Dr.  "Welsh's  and  Dr.  Duncan's.  This 
should  give  you  confidence  in  yourself.  You  have  only  to 
go  on,  and  with  God's  blessing  you  will  become  the  mini- 
ster that  you  wish  to  be.  This  winter  will  do  you  far 
more  good  than  if  it  had  been  spent  on  mere  mathematics. 
They  do  not  give  any  hints  for  reacliing  men's  hearts,  and 
a  minister  has  more  to  do  with  hearts  than  heads.     I  see 


134  MODEST  PATRIMONY  POSSESSED. 

that  a  sentence  or  two  spoken  in  the  fulness  of  one's  feel- 
ing, even  though  it  should  he  extempore,  is  far  more 
eagerly  listened  to  than  a  fine  sentiment,  or  even  a  good 
illustration.  My  evening  lectures,  of  whicli  not  the 
twentieth,  part  is  written,  are  as  interesting  to  tlie  hearers 
as  the  sermons  whicli  are  committed  nearly  word  for 
word.  Perhaps  they  are  a  little  plainer,  but  the  chief 
reason  is  because  in  them  I  'ettle'  more  directly  at  the 
heart ;  and  oh,  this  work  of  preaching  is  chosen  employ- 
ment !  As  I  sometimes  feel  now-a-days,  I  could  let  every- 
thing else  go  for  the  sake  of  it.  Your  prizes  may  get  you 
speedily  into  a  church,  and  once  you  are  there  I  hope 
there  will  be  but  one  wish  left,  and  that  wish  fulfilling 
every  day  in  the  case  of  some  of  your  hearers.  Yes,  there 
is  but  one  thing  worth  living  for ;  and  since  God  has  been 
pleased  to  give  you  and  me  the  opportunity  and  means  of 
living  for  it,  I  hope  we  will  be  able  to  show  that  we  are 
sincerely  His.  What  I  mean  is  tliis,  that  we  who  have 
'a  Kttle  of  our  own'  will  show  no  self-seeking  in  looking 
out  for  a  rich  or  comfortable  living.  There  are  some  com- 
forts which  I  must  have,  and  so  must  you,  for  we  could 
not  live  without  them ;  but  with  humble  notions,  and  with 
a  judicious  wife,  or  without  one  altogether,  I  believe  that 
the  poorest  charge  in  the  Kirk  might  keep  you  or  me. 
And  if  such  a  one  cast  up  we  should  not  refuse  it  because 
it  is  poor.  It  may  be  too  large,  or  have  some  other  fault, 
but  poverty  should  rather  weigh  in  its  favour  with  you 
and  me.  Indeed,  at  this  day  when  so  many  churches  are 
unendowed,  and  some  getting  up  that  will  not  be  able  to 
pay  even  the  £80  bond,  is  it  not  the  duty  of  such  as  can 


A.  RICH  LIVING  NOT  NECESSARY.  135 

to  serve  these  cliurclies  (or  rather  to  serve  the  Head  of 
the  Church  in  them)  not  for  filthy  lucre's  sake?  So 
completely  do  I  feel  this,  that  if  an  unendowed  church 
were  offered  me  now — one  of  which  I  could  discharge  the 
duties  with  any  sufficiency — I  could  not  refuse  it.  In 
the  meantime  I  have  been  kindly  sent  to  a  place  not 
beyond  my  strength,  and  where  I  may  perhaps  acquire 
strength  for  a  larger.  And  what  I  would  like  is,  that  my 
dear  brother,  to  whom  God  has  given  gifts  which  may 
one  day  be  coveted,  should  bestow  them  on  the  place 
which  most  needs  them,  not  that  which  can  pay  best  for 
them. 

"  I  am  glad  that  you  are  so  carried  by  Dr.  Duff.  It  is 
good  to  get  such  a  shove  now  and  then  as  will  teU  for 
some  time  to  come.  .  .  . 

"  When  I  saw  how  well  my  father  is  remembered  in 
Dundee,  where  he  spent  only  twenty  months,  I  almost 
grudge  that  he  was  not  a  town  minister  aU  along." 

"  April  18th. — Pain  in  shoulder.  Eheumatism  or  liver 
complaint  ?  What  if  something  lay  me  aside  when  only 
'thinking  about  beginning  to  begin.'  Writing  a  sermon 
all  day  for  India  Mission  collection,  and  from  the  subject 
grudged  aU  the  while  that  so  little  of  the  Gospel,  so  little 
of  what  sinners  need  to  hear,  could  be  brought  in.  Hope 
to  make  up  in  afternoon  lecture  somewhat. 

"  April  21st. — Church  full  both  forenoon  and  evening, 
but  examined  so  long  that  no  lecture.  Thirty-four  have 
now  joined  the  class.  An  extempore  passage,  telhng  the 
state  of  matters  here  in  Druidical  times,  seemed  very 


136  INVITATION  TO  GREENOCK 

interesting  to  young  people.     Therefore  must  always  have 
a  bit  for  children  expressly. 

"  A2Jril  23d. — A  very  agreeable  compliment  from  a 
cottar's  wife,  that  no  one  ever  '  made  the  thing  so  plain  to 
her !'  Another  wished  she  was  young  again,  for  the  sake 
of  joining  the  class,  etc." 

"Edinburgh,  Ifay  18,  1839. 

"  My  dear  Uncle,—  ...  I  am  here  on  a  visit  of  a  few 
days.  It  is  the  Assembly  week.  Such  an  Assembly  never 
met  since  1638.  The  independence  of  our  Church  must 
now  be  asserted,  or  she  must  lay  in  the  dust  the  honour 
of  300  years.  There  are  ministers  in  Scotland  yet  who 
would  sooner  follow  their  forefathers  to  the  Bass  or  the 
Castle  Hill  than  prove  unfaithful  to  our  Church's  only 
Head.  The  Church  of  Scotland  is  the  only  Establish- 
ment which  neither  owns  a  secular  jurisdiction  in  her 
tilings  spiritual,  nor  claims  a  jurisdiction  for  herself  in 
things  temporal.  I  am  thankful  that  I  belong  to  such  a 
Church." 

At  tliis  time  he  steadily  declined  to  put  himself  in  the 
way  of  being  chosen  as  minister  in  any  vacant  church.  A 
very  strenuous  effort  was  made  to  induce  him  to  accept  a 
new  charge  at  Greenock;  but  after  much  earnest  con- 
sideration, and  with  great  difficulty,  he  resolved  to  remain. 
The  decision  of  such  a  question  becomes  a  very  important 
matter  with  such  a  man.  His  journal  under  that  date 
is  charged  with  long  parallel  columns,  headed  "For 
Greenock,"  and  "For  Abernyte,"  "Against  Greenock." 
and  "Against  Abernyte."    These  columns  were  weighed 


FINALLY  DECLINED.  137 

and  weiglied  again.  Prayer  and  pains  were  employed 
successively  and  simultaneously  in  order  to  reacli  a  sound 
judgment.  In  the  scale  against  Greenock  occur  such 
items  as  these,  "  too  nervous ;  too  weak  :  cannot  commit 
two  sermons  :  cannot  visit  3000  people :  plenty  of  good 
ministers  there  already :  break  down  and  do  no  more 
good."  One  of  the  entries  on  the  side  of  Abernyte  is — 
"  Improve  health."  The  reasons  for  remaining  in  the 
country  on  the  ground  of  health  had  more  force  than  he 
was  inclined  to  ascribe  to  them.  Even  at  that  early  period 
the  extreme  wilhngness  of  the  spirit  concealed  in  part  from 
himseK  the  weakness  of  the  flesh.  The  conclusion  of  the 
whole  was : — "  Very  harrowing  parting  interview  with 
Messrs.  Fairie  and  Gray;  nearly  five  hours  together. 
Decided  not  to  go.  Sought  direction,  but  would  have 
liked  more  clearness."  And  soon  after  he  ^\Tites, — "I 
cannot  at  this  conjuncture  leave  Abernyte  ;  and  if  it  was 
a  dreadful  thing  to  part  with  these  good  men  after  giving 
the  final  No,  I  have  had  it  all  made  up  in  the  comfort  of 
my  own  mind  in  thinking  that  it  was  best  for  them  and 
for  me,  and  I  hope  for  Abernyte." 

I  have  long  observed  with  much  regret  a  disposition, 
pretty  generally  prevaihng,  in  the  pubhc  to  treat  the  ex- 
pressed difficulties  of  Christian  ministers  in  similar  straits 
as  so  many  hollow  conventionahties,  and  to  assume,  -with 
some  measure  of  grossness,  that  beneath  the  surface  the 
decision  uniformly  leant  to  the  side  which  offered  the 
larger  stipend.  I  am  willing,  of  course,  to  confess  that 
there  are  mercenaries  in  every  profession,  and  wherever 
these  are  detected   I  give  them  up  to  the  will  of  their 


138  NATURAL  SCIENCE  EMPLOYED 

enemies ;  but  I  am  convinced  that  the  imputation,  in  the 
general  form  which  it  ordinarily  assumes,  is  a  mistake, 
and  consequently  a  calumny.  One  swaUow  does  not  make 
a  summer ;  and  I  am  aware  that  to  exhibit  a  single  example 
of  magnanimous  seK-sacrifice  and  godly  simplicity  in  the 
character  of  James  Hamilton  does  not  prove  my  case  :  but 
his  case  is  not  singular.  For  the  sake  of  those  who  heed- 
lessly give  currency  to  the  charge,  rather  than  for  the  sake 
of  those  who  are  its  objects,  I  put  in  my  protest,  for  it  is 
a  lighter  calamity  to  be  the  object  than  the  author  of  an 
untrue  imputation. 

He  threw  himself  into  the  pastoral  work  with  all  his 
might.  He  loved  his  work,  and  formed  a  strong  attach- 
ment to  the  people.  In  visiting  the  sick  he  strives,  with 
an  extraordinary  union  of  faithfulness  and  tenderness,  to 
remove  every  species  of  self-righteous  trust,  and  lead  the 
sufferer  in  simplicity  to  the  Saviour.  Partly  in  his  own 
journal,  and  partly  in  the  testimony  of  surviving  residents, 
I  find  many  evidences  of  success.  He  watched  every 
symptom,  and  turned  every  circumstance  to  account. 
"  Four  or  five  of  my  young  people  are  in  the  way  of 
meeting  in  the  evening  for  the  purpose  of  studying  the 
Bible  together,  on  a  plan  which  I  explained  to  them.  The 
bond  of  union  is  a  bible  with  marginal  references,  of  which 
one  of  them  is  the  fortunate  possessor,  and  the  meetings 
are  held  in  rotation  in  their  several  houses."  Already  his 
love  of  nature,  and  his  steadfast  belief  that  the  works  of 
God  might  be  usefully  employed  in  illustrating  His  word, 
had  begun  to  operate  and  to  tinge  his  ministry.  He  cer- 
tainly did  not  work  his  way  "  from  Nature  up  to  Nature's 


IN  THE  SERVICE  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  139 

God "  in  the  free  and  easy  manner  of  those  who,  never 
haAdng  taken  a  deep  view  of  sin,  have  never  appreciated 
the  need  of  a  divine  Eedeemer ;  but  having  learned  to 
know  God  through  Christ,  he  was  accustomed  to  meet  and 
commune  with  them  everywhere.  The  God  whom  this 
student  met  in  the  wayside  flowers  was  the  same  loving 
Father  to  whom  he  had  been  reconciled  through  the  blood 
of  the  cross.  Thus  he  found  a  gospel  everywhere  in  the 
world ;  and  thus  he  was  sometimes,  even  to  the  last,  mis- 
understood by  good  people,  who  had  not  passed  through 
his  experience,  and  could  not  sympathize  with  his  enthu- 
siasm. When  in  his  preaching  he  expatiated  with  dehght 
on  vegetable  life,  from  the  cedar  that  is  in  Lebanon  to  the 
hyssop  that  springeth  out  of  the  wall,  he  did  not  turn  aside 
to  another  gospel,  but  drew  the  same  old  gospel  of  grace 
through  a  greater  variety  of  texts  than  lay  within  the 
range  of  other  men,  "  I  do  not  wish  to  preach  in  Edin- 
burgh," he  writes  to  his  brother  on  the  1 0th  May  ;  "  I 
want  to  get  time  for  some  little  affairs,  such  as  consulting 
books  on  the  botany  of  Palestine.  I  still  have  a  hankering 
that  I  would  like  to  deliver  a  few  lectures  to  my  people 
on  the  natural  history  of  the  Bible.  Henceforth  I  would 
consecrate  all  that  I  may  anyhow  have  learned  to  the 
making  the  Bible  interesting.  This  is  a  delightful  place, 
as  you  shall  see  when  you  come.  The  lambs  are  very 
happy,  and  the  gean  trees  in  very  fine  flower." 

Acting  on  the  noble  resolution  announced  above,  to 
consecrate  all  the  information  he  possessed  to  the  ehici- 
dation  of  the  Scriptures,  he  was  not  very  scrupulous  in 
preserving    conventional   forms.     Indeed   an  enthusiast, 


140  BEANCH  OF  A  FIG-TRRE 

with  his  soul  towering  to  a  considerahle  height  above  the 
commonplaces  of  a  neighbourhood,  and  bent  with  all  his 
might  on  one  great  aim,  is  apt  to  go  straight  to  his  point, 
walking  over  a  good  many  venerable  prejudices  that 
happen  to  stand  in  his  way.  Forgetting  altogether  the 
methods  by  which  the  dignity  of  the  pulpit  had  been 
maintained,  and  the  slumbers  of  the  congregation  left  un- 
disturbed from  time  immemorial,  James  Hamilton  was 
wont  to  bring  the  flowers  he  had  gathered  by  the  way 
bodily  into  the  desk  where  he  presided  in  the  weekly 
23rayer-meeting,  and  exhibit  their  characters  to  his  rural 
audience,  in  explanation  of  biblical  facts  and  allusions. 
Visiting  on  one  occasion  at  the  house  of  a  neighbouring 
proprietor,  he  espied  a  fig-tree  in  the  garden,  and  begged 
a  branch.  Having  borne  his  treasure  home  in  triumph 
on  his  shoulder,  and  prepared  his  discourse  for  the  evening 
meeting,  he  took  it  with  him  to  the  church.  In  due  time, 
when  the  prelection  had  advanced  to  the  proper  point,  the 
fig  branch  was  displayed  from  the  desk,  and  bore  its  part 
in  the  demonstration.  At  that  time  a  great  spiritual 
awakening  was  spreading  in  the  neighbouring  town  of 
Dundee.  A  plain  woman,  whose  spirit  had  been  stiri'ed 
in  that  movement,  was  present  in  the  prayer-meeting  at 
Abernyte,  thirsting  mightily  for  the  word,  and  longing 
to  draw  water  from  the  wells  of  salvation.  Amazed  at 
the  strange  phenomenon  of  a  young  minister  partly 
preaching  a  gospel  which  her  quickened  heart  recognised 
as  the  truth,  and  partly  flourishing  over  the  side  of  the 
pulpit  the  branch  of  a  tree  covered  with  huge  green  leaves, 
accompanied  by  discourse  not  perfectly  comprehensible, 


DISPLAYED  FROM  THE  PULPIT.  141 

Janet  succeeded  in  restraining  lier  spirit  and  holding  her 
peace  until  the  meeting  closed ;  but  as  soon  as  the  last 
utterances  of  prayer  were  over,  she  made  her  way  up  to 
the  minister  and  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  ]\Iaister  Hamilton,  hoo 
do  you  gie  them  fig  leaves  when  they  are  hungerin'  for 
the  bread  o'  life  ? "  Those  warm-hearted,  unlettered 
Christians  comprehended  their  minister  in  part,  and  in  as 
far  as  they  comprehended  they  revered  and  loved  him  ; 
but  some  sides  of  this  man  they  did  not  understand,  and 
before  tliese  they  stood  amazed  and  bewildered.  His  heart 
was  as  deep  in  the  revival  as  their  own.  He  was  the 
beloved  friend  and  coadjutor  of  Burns  and  M'Cheyne  in 
its  commencement,  and  through  its  course  ;  but  his  poetic 
temperament,  and  enthusiasm  for  nature,  gave  a  tinge  to 
his  preaching,  which  now  and  then  became  a  stumbling- 
block  in  the  way  of  the  more  prosaic  sort  of  Christians, 
not  only  in  Abernyte,  at  the  beginning  of  his  ministry, 
but  even  in  London,  down  to  its  close. 

But  while  the  peculiarity  of  his  character  and  experi- 
ence affords  a  sufficient  explanation  as  far  as  regards  his 
own  appreciation  of  the  Gospel  throughout  his  ministry, 
it  ought  to  be  confessed  that  there  was,  and  continued  to 
be,  some  measure  of  ground  for  the  objection  urged  bj 
the  simple  woman  at  Abernyte.  By  obtaining  access  to 
his  inner  life,  and  marking  his  habitual  eagerness  to 
win  sinners  unto  Christ,  we  can  well  understand  that  he 
tasted  for  himself  of  the  grace  of  God  in  every  discourse  ; 
but  it  remains  true  that  in  some  discourses  the  grace  of 
God  in  the  Gospel  was  not,  in  the  judgment  of  intelligent 
hearers,  articulated  with  sufficient  fulness.     I  find  that 


142  WILLIAM  BUHNS 

some  of  those  who  loved  him,  and  leant  on  his  ministry 
for  spiritual  edification,  confessed  and  lamented  that  occa- 
sionally a  sermon  opened  and  closed,  steeped  indeed 
tlirougliout  in  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  but  without  such 
a  positive  declaration  as  would  enable  a  listener,  on  that 
occasion,  to  learn  the  way  of  life. 

"July  5th. — Preached  yesterday  evening  at  Blairgowrie. 
Delightful  friend  Mr.  Macdonald.  Suggestion  about 
written  questions  for  self-examination  to  young  com- 
municants. 

"  I  am  too  sensitive.  Find  the  image  of  myself  more 
in  Mrs.  Huntington  than  any  one  of  whom  I  have  read. 
All  her  susceptibility  to  friendship,  and  that  sensitive 
dread  of  hurting  friends,  and  nervous  fear  of  cooling  them. 
To-day  have  been  in  utter  misery,  and  am  only  getting 
over  it,  because  neglected  to  thank  Mrs.  Kinnear  for  the  use 
of  her  gig,  and  because,  in  coming  out  of  Miss  Eliza's  room, 
I  complained  of  being  fatigued,  and  Mrs.  K.  seemed  con- 
cerned that  I  should  have  gone  to  see  her  in  that  state. 
Fear  that  my  visit  was  of  little  service  to  Miss  E.  and  J., 
and  this  aggravates .  my  distress.  Lord,  send  her  a  better 
teacher,  and  grant  that  she  may  be  one  of  those  sheep 
who  shall  never  be  plucked  out  of  Christ's  hand." 

TO  REV.  J.  WILLIS. 

"  Abernyte,  by  Incuture,  27^/i  Aug.  1S39. 

"My  deal  Sir, —  .  ,  .  You  will  have   heard  of  the 

movement  in  St.  Peter's,  Dundee.     I  hope  that  much  real 

good  is  going  on.     I  have  addressed  Burns'  congregation 

twice,  on  a  week  evening,  and  never  met  a  more  attentive 


AND  THE  REVIVAL  IN  DUNDEE.       143 

or  more  impressed  audience.  He  has  had  a  meeting 
every  night  since  Thursday  fortnight,  and  so  eager  are  the 
people  to  hear  the  Word,  that  every  night  he  has  an  over- 
flowing congregation.  On  the  first  three  evenings  there 
was  much  excitement  among  the  people,  and  many  (as 
at  Kilsyth)  cried  out  under  the  force  of  strong  convic- 
tions. These  expressions  of  feeling,  and  the  lateness  of 
the  first  meetings,  have  supplied  a  handle  to-  gainsayers ; 
but  the  work  makes  progress  in  spite  of  them,  and  from 
what  I  have  seen  and  heard  from  Mr.  Burns,  I  have  no 
doubt  that  there  is  a  remarkable  pouring  out  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  upon  many.  I  have  seldom  seen  any  preacher 
who  so  vividly  realized  things  unseen,  and  wlio  had  so 
strong  faith  in  the  imparted  strength  of  his  heavenly 
Master  as  Burns  himself.  I  would  say  that  he  is  more 
distinguished  {prima  facie)  by  zeal  for  the  glory  of  Christ 
than,  as  I  have  noticed  that  many  are,  by  mere  concern 
for  perishing  sinners.  This  gives  a  lofty  bearing  and  an 
apostolical  character  to  his  ministrations,  and  keeps  him 
from  many  sources  of  vexation  to  which  others  not  so 
actuated  are  liable.  I  do  not  say  that  he  wants  the  other 
motives  to  ministerial  fidelity,  but  I  do  say  that  every 
other  is  with  him  subordinated  to  that  noblest  of  all,  the 
exalting  of  Christ  in  the  salvation  of  souls.  He  speaks, 
too,  with  such  warmth  and  solemnity,  such  empressement, 
that  his  hearers  cannot  for  a  moment  forget  his  earnest- 
ness and  sincerity.  I  find  three  difficulties  which  ordin- 
arily oppose  the  success  of  the  Gospel  message  :  It  is 
very  difficult  to  secure  the  attention  of  the  hearers,  still 
more  difficult  to  make  them  discover  that  you  are  sincere 


144  HIS  MOTHER  AND  THE  FAMILY. 

in  what  you  say  (that  you  will  not  be  ^:>2i^  0/ ),  and  most 
difficult  of  all  to  convince  them  that  God  is  sincere  in 
what  He  says.  After  the  example  of  M'Cheyne  and 
Andrew  Bonar,  we  have  set  agoing  here  a  weekly  prayer 
meeting.  I  hope  that  good  will  come  of  it.  It  has  had 
the  effect  of  letting  me  see  that  there  are  more  seriously 
disposed  people  in  the  country-side  than  I  would  have 
thought,  but  most  of  them  come  from  without  the  parish. 
Indeed  the  pari.sh  is  so  small  that  of  itself  it  could  not 
haK  fill  the  church.  There  is  nothing  that  has  been  so 
intimately  forced  home  on  my  conviction  of  late  as  the 
powerlessness  of  all  means  till  vitalized  by  the  Spirit's 
energy.  And  I  have  been  imploring  the  praying  people 
here  to  cry  mightily  to  God  for  the  descent  of  the  Church's 
Comforter." 

"Abernyte,  SeiH.  9,  1839. 

"  Dear  Mrs.  Yetch,— This  is  a  Monday,  a  day  when  I 
am  often  wearied,  but  perhaps  the  more  on  that  account 
the  day  which  most  reminds  me  of  my  friends.  It  is  the 
day  that  I  have  most  leisure  for  thinking  of  tliem,  and,  if 
I  were  not  very  lazy  or  very  tired,  for  writing  to  them, 
I  must  not  let  another  jNIonday  pass  without  writing  to 
you,  tliough  amongst  my  unanswered  letters  I  see  some 
as  old  as  March.  You  know  that  I  have  been  here  for 
half  a  year  as  assistant  to  the  old  minister  of  this  parish. 
Since  the  end  of  June  I  have  had  the  great  enjoyment  of 
a  visit  from  my  mother  and  all  the  rest  of  them.  They 
have  been  living  here  in  the  manse  as  Mr.  Wilson's 
boarders — an  arrangement  which  I  daresay  mamma  feels  a 
little  queer,  after  being  all  along  accustomed  to  preside 


THE  LANDSCAPE.  145 

over  her  own  establishment;  but  still  it  has  been  good 
for  us  all,  and  particularly  for  Andrew,  who  seems  quite 
renovated  after  his  two  fevers.  They  all  leave  me  at  the 
end  of  this  week,  unless  I  can  manage  to  retain  Jeanie 
for  a  little  longer.  The  greatest  external  drawback  to 
this  place  is  the  Tvant  of  a  house  of  my  own,  to  which  I 
could  bring  my  friends.  It  would  be  pleasant  during 
those  winter  months  which  must  soon  be  here,  if  I  had 
my  mother  or  sister,  or  some  one  to  enliven  the  monotony 
of  a  manse  with  no  occupant  save  its  ancient  minister. 
In  most  respects  the  place  is  one  for  which  I  should  be 
thankful,  and  am  thankful.  It  is  not  large  beyond  my 
strength,  and  I  think  there  are  appearances  of  good  among 
some  of  the  people.  You  are  fond  of  fine  scenery:  we 
look  down  on  the  rich  Carse  of  Gowrie,  the  Firth  of  Tay, 
and  the  coast  of  Fife, — places  very  interesting  to  me  at  this 
moment,  for  they  bring  to  my  mind  an  excursion  with 
Mary  at  this  same  season  last  year.  There  are  some 
pleasant  walks,  and  some  sweetly  retired  spots.  To-day 
I  sat  a  long  Avhile  at  the  foot  of  a  cascade  which  tumbles 
from  the  most  romantic  hill  I  ever  saw,  and  I  could  have 
sat  half  the  dav,  the  sound  of  the  water  'devallincj  into  a 
pool  profound'  was  so  soothing;  and  it  was  amusement 
enough  to  watch  the  waterfall  itself.  I  had  no  idea  that 
so  great  variety  could  have  been  produced  by  the  descent 
of  a  not  very  large  stream.  Such  a  waterfall  is  not  the 
uniform  thing  people  take  it  to  be.  There  is  an  endless 
diversity  in  the  form  of  the  cataract.  It  seems  to  come 
in  pulses, — fits  of  alternate  enlarging  and  lessening.  And 
then  there  are  a  multitude  of  smaller  jets  well  worth 

K 


14G  THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

watcliing.  Wliat  helped  to  enliven  it  was  the  anxiety  of 
sundry  trout  to  jerk  themselves  up  the  precipice.  Of 
course  the  nimblest  of  them  faUed,  but  this  did  not  daunt 
the  rest.  One  enterprising  fellow  made  such  a  somerset 
that  he  fell  back  on  the  mossy  rock  below,  at  a  consider- 
able distance  from  the  water,  but  he  soon  regained  his 
proper  element.  One  thing  I  noticed  in  this  adventurer 
was  that  he  did  not  find  his  way  back  to  the  water  by  a 
succession  of  leaps,  as  I  have  seen  less  practised  fishes  do, 
but  he  wriggled  over  the  slimy  rock  like  a  serpent,  and 
made  directly  for  the  water.  You  do  not  say  whether 
you  have  found  out  any  good  people  in  your  neighbour- 
hood. I  know  of  few  things  so  likely  to  be  useful  to  us 
as  a  friend  willing  to  talk  freely  and  naturally  on  the 
'  great  things  of  God.'  .  .  .  There  are  some  people  who  pro- 
fess religion  who  are  so  cold  and  stiff  and  unnatural  when 
they  speak  about  it,  but  it  is  delightful  to  meet  with  one 
whose  heart  is  so  warmed  by  the  love  of  Christ  that  it  is 
more  pleasant  and  natural  for  him  to  speak  the  words  of 
eternal  life  than  to  converse  on  any  other  subject.  .  .  . 
I  sometimes  find  it  very  delightful  to  pray  for  my  friends. 
Besides  the  far  higher  end,  it  has  the  effect  of  increasing 
our  affectionate  interest  in  them.  When  I  say  that  I 
often  pray  for  you,  I  hope  that  you  wiU  do  the  same  for 
me ;  and  the  things  which  I  have  the  most  need  of  are 
not  temporal  mercies  (for  of  them  I  have  had  more  than 
my  share),  but  a  forgdfulncss  of  myself  in  the  service 
of  God,  and  more  concern  for  the  souls  of  dying  men. 
...  I  had  a  long  letter  from  Mr.  Halley  lately.  He  is 
wearing  slowly  away  to  the  'Happy  Land,'  and  as  full 


SECRET  CONCERT  IN  PRAYER.        147 

of  spriglitliness  as  ever,  though  he    can   only  walk  on 
crutches.  .  .  .  James  Hamilton." 

About  this  time  he  became  connected  with  a  select 
society,  about  twelve  in  number,  bound  together  in  a 
common  covenant  to  devote  themselves  with  all  their 
might  to  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom — the  revival 
of  the  Church.  Two  of  the  members,  Leslie  Miller  and 
Hewitson,  after  fulfilling  their  course,  have  entered  into 
rest.  Several  are  now  in  the  high  places  of  the  heathen 
field,  and  tlie  rest  are  labouring  in  the  ministry  at  home. 
The  bonds  were  intimate  and  peculiar  :  the  union  and  its 
objects  were,  for  prudential  reasons,  kept  strictly  private. 
The  primary  object  was  their  own  advancement  in  the 
divine  life.  After  this,  and  by  means  of  it,  they  sought 
the  good  of  Zion,  the  prosperity  of  their  own  Church,  and 
of  Christ's  cause  in  the  world.  Their  means  were  prayer, 
each  apart,  or  any  two  or  three  who  might  be  near,  in 
company — but  whether  apart  or  together,  all  in  concert, — 
and  mutual  correspondence.  From  such  roots  as  these, 
striking  deep  unseen,  sprang  great  and  beautiful  fruits  for 
Scotland  and  for  the  world. 

Mr.  M'Cheyne,  Mr.  Bm^ns,  Mr.  A.  Bonar,  and  Mr.  E. 
M'Donald  frequently  visited  Abernyte,  and  contributed 
by  their  addresses  at  the  weekly  prayer-meetings  to  kindle 
and  spread  the  flame  of  spiritual  zeal  that,  to  a  large  ex- 
tent, at  that  time  pervaded  the  district. 


148  EGBERT  M'CHEYNE. 

MR.  M'CriEYNE  TO  ME.  HAMILTON, 

"loth  Jan.  1S40.      Wed. 

"  My  deae  Feiexd, — Will  you  excuse  lack  of  ceremony, 
and  come  down  to-morrow  and  preach  to  us  the  unsearch- 
able riches  of  Christ  ?  We  have  the  Communion  on  the 
Sabbath ;  we  have  no  Fast-day,  but  only  a  meeting  in  the 
evening  at  a  quarter-past  seven.  Come,  my  dear  Su",  if 
you  can,  and  refresh  us  with  your  company.  Bring  the 
fragrance  of  the  bundle  of  myrrh  along  with  you,  and  may 
grace  be  poured  into  your  lips. — Yours  ever, 

"  EOBT.  MUEEAY  M'ChEYNE." 

This  is  an  interesting  morsel.  It  exhibits  almost  to  the 
reader's  eye  one  of  the  most  memorable  scenes  in  the 
spiritual  history  of  Scotland.  It  reveals  the  bond  of  sacred 
brotherhood  between  M'Cheyne  and  Hamilton  at  the  crisis 
of  a  movement  which  has  contributed  much  to  mould  the 
reli<]rious  character  of  the  age.  Although  the  revival  at  its 
spring  felt  the  hand  of  William  Burns  more  than  any  other 
human  agency,  providential  circumstances  connected  it 
more  with  M'Cheyne  in  its  subsequent  course.  Besides 
his  personal  work  for  a  short  time  as  minister  of  St.  Peter's, 
Dundee,  the  early  and  sudden  removal  of  the  workman 
contributed  greatly  to  spread  and  deepen  the  evangelical 
earnestness  that  characterized  the  period.  There  is  a  close 
analogy  between  the  experience  of  Hedley  Vicars  and  that 
of  Eobert  M'Cheyne.  Upon  both,  in  diverse  spheres,  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  poured  out  in  great  measure.  Both  in 
early  youth  were  raised  by  Divine  grace  to  measures  of 
attaimnent  in  tlie  life  of  faith  seldom  attained  by  the  ripest 


HYMNS  AND  PSALMS.  149 

believers,  and  then  suddenly  removed  from  conspicnous 
positions.  The  result  of  this  peculiar  providential  arrange- 
ment in  regard  to  both  was,  that  through  their  early 
removal  they  became  the  means  of  advancing  the  Ee- 
deemer's  kingdom  more  than,  in  all  probability,  it  could 
have  been  advanced  by  lengthened,  even  though  devoted, 
lives. 

Mr.  Hamilton  was  grieved  with  popular  ignorance  when 
it  crossed  his  path,  and  consumed  with  a  desire  to  en- 
lighten it.  Eager  to  communicate  needful  knowledge  in 
the  shortest  and  surest  way,  he  was  restive  under  such 
restraints  as  he  thought  were  imposed  only  by  custom, 
and  not  sustained  by  reason.  I  have  heard  him  lament 
that  it  was  not  competent  to  a  minister,  when  expounding 
such  a  book  as  the  Acts  of  Apostles,  to  hang  a  big  map 
on  the  wall  behind  the  pulpit,  and  secure  a  long  pointing- 
rod,  as  a  part  of  his  preaching  furniture. 

From  his  youth  upward,  he  loved  hymns.  To  some  of 
the  good  people  of  the  parish,  the  hymns  were  as  distasteful 
as  the  botany.  One  elder,  surviving  still  in  an  honoured 
old  age,  held  fast  by  the  view  which  is  still  maintained 
by  some  worthy  Christians,  both  in  Scotland  and  America, 
that  it  is  wrong  to  sing  anything  m  public  worship  but  the 
Psalms  of  David.  Being  a  good  singer,  and  a  willing 
helper  in  good  works,  he  had  much  difficulty  in  avoiding 
compromise  on  this  point.  One  instance  is  recorded,  much 
to  his  credit,  in  wliich  he  actually  led  the  congregation 
in  singing  one  of  the  Scotch  paraphrases  that  had  been 
given  out  by  a  stranger,  when  there  was  no  other  precentor 
present,  and  the  alternative  was  presented  of  singing  a 


150  UNION  OF  THE  FAMILY. 

hymn  or  no  praise.  Long  afterwards,  an  opportunity  was 
afforded  to  the  minister  of  repaying  the  worthy  elder  in 
kind.  The  farmer  of  Abernyte,  having  occasion  to  visit 
London,  accepted  there  the  hospitality  of  Dr.  Hamilton. 
When  "  the  Church  in  the  house  "  had  assembled,  and  the 
worship  was  about  to  begin  as  usual  with  the  singing  of  a 
hymn.  Dr.  Hamilton,  suddenly  remembering  the  presence 
and  the  prejudice  of  his  friend,  laid  aside  the  book,  saying, 
"  We  shall  omit  the  hymn  to-night,  and  sing  one  of  the 
psalms  of  David." 

It  has  been  already  incidentally  mentioned  that,  by  an 
arrangement  with  Mr.  Wilson,  satisfactory  to  all  the 
parties,  his  mother,  with  her  two  younger  sons,  took  up 
her  summer  quarters  in  the  manse  of  Abernyte.  In  this 
way  the  family  obtained  their  usual  vacation  in  a  rural 
district,  and,  in  addition,  a  period  of  delightful  union  after 
the  natural  dispersion  had  begun.  It  was  a  plan  that 
postponed  for  a  little  that  final  upbreaking  of  the  house, 
which  the  maturity  of  the  children  renders  necessary  at 
length.  For  these  three  summer  months  the  son  enjoyed 
the  privilege  of  looking  up  to  his  mother  in  the  house,  and 
the  mother  in  the  public  assembly  enjoyed  and  valued  the 
privilege  of  hearing  the  word  of  life  from  the  lips  of  her 
son.  It  was  a  green  spot  in  the  landscape  of  the  family 
life  which  threatened  now,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  time, 
to  become  somewhat  sere. 

The  private  records  of  his  ministry  at  Abernyte  are  very 
full,  and  very  precious,  but  they  must  for  the  most  part 
remain  private.  They  were  not  meant  for  the  public  eye, 
and  therefore  publication  would  spoil  them.     Like  some 


SEED  GROWING  IN  SECRET.  151 

tender  plants  that  have  been  nursed  in  the  shade,  they 
would  lose  their  beauty  and  fragrance  if  exposed  to  the  rays 
of  the  noonday  sun.  To  place  those  self-inspections,  and 
those  notes  of  alternate  disappointment  and  success  with 
■individuals  and  families,  under  the  public  gaze,  would  be  to 
•misplace  them  ;  and  nothing  is  beautiful  out  of  its  place. 
The  extracts  that  have  been  submitted  consist  of  portions 
which,  in  the  Editor's  judgment,  might  be  published  with- 
out breach  of  confidence  towards  either  the  living  or  the 
dead.  For  the  rest,  the  reader  must  be  content  with  the 
-testimony  of  an  eye-witness,  that  the  tracks  of  James 
Hamilton's  daily  life  in  the  parish  are  those  of  an  ambas- 
sador for  Christ,  beseeching  all  to  be  reconciled  to  God  ; 
of  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly 
dividing  the  word  of  truth  ;  of  a  seeker  for  souls  who 
laboured  in  season,  out  of  season,  becoming  all  things  to 
all  men  that  he  might  gain  some ;  of  a  wakeful  watcher, 
who  marked  every  symptom,  grieving  over  failure,  and 
rejoicing  over  every  instance  of  success  ;  of  a  servant  who 
so  lived  and  laboured  that  he  might  be  ready,  at  whatever 
time  the  Master  might  come,  to  give  in  his  account 
with  joy. 

The  fruit,  according  to  the  testimony  of  surviving  ob- 
servers, was  abundant.  Not  a  few  live  to  thank  God  for 
sending  him  for  a  time  to  the  parish  ;  and  not  a  few  have 
departed,  rejoicing  in  the  Saviour  of  whom  they  learned 
from  his  lips. 

"  Uh  Scpfemhcr  1839, — On  two  Thursdays  preached  in 
St.  Peter's,  Dundee,  and  saw  something  of  the  glorious 
work  going  forward  there.     The  first  time,  was  lamentably 


152  THE  GOSPEL  THE  GHEAT  EEFOllMER. 

dull  myself,  not  so  the  second  time.  "Wonderfully  eager 
congregation  both  times.  Each  visit  greatly  refreshed  me. 
Slept  all  night  with  Wm.  Burns.  '  Oh,  James,  I  cannot  tell 
you  what  I  have  seen  and  felt  upon  this  bed,  I  have 
been  obliged  to  sj)ring  to  my  feet.  One  time  at  Glasgow, 
manifestation  of  the  holiness  of  God  which,  if  continued, 
would  have  separated  soul  from  body.' " 

"  SciJt.  2  7. — Three  weeks  ago  got  the  best  news  I  ever 
heard.  In  a  letter  occasioned  by  some  desponding  re- 
marks of  mine  as  to  prospects  in  this  place,  Mrs.  K,  says 
that  she  must  regard  me  as  the  instrument  of  her  soul's 
salvation,  and  that,  under  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
her  Bible  has  been  quite  another  book," 

"Aberntte,  Dec.  4,  1839. 
"  jMy  dear  Uncle, — In  your  letter  you  speak  as  if  all 
attempts  to  arrest  the  relapse  of  the  Church  into  Popery 
utterly  failed,  and  it  is  very  likely  that  they  will  continue 
to  fail  till  it  becomes  high  time  for  God  to  work.  There 
is  one  thing  of  which  I  am  very  sure,  that  mere  contro- 
versy, argument,  however  able,  will  neither  keep  out  nor 
expel  Popery.  But  the  energetic  preaching  of  tlie  Gospel 
will.  It  was  by  exalting  Christ  that  Luther  reformed  the 
Church  of  Pome,  and  Whitfield  reformed  tlie  Church  of 
England.  And  the  same  has  been  seen  in  Scotland  at 
present.  jNIere  attacks  on  intemperance  and  infidelity 
produced  no  impression  on  the  drunkards  and  Chartists  of 
Kilsyth  and  Dundee ;  but  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
made  new  men  of  them.  Since  I  wrote  to  you  I  have 
been  once  at  Kilsyth,  and  often  in  Dundee,  and  I  must 


ECCLESIASTICAL  EEFOEM  ALSO  NECESSARY.     153 

say  that  I  have  nowhere  felt  the  reality  of  religion  more 
irresistibly ;  nor  did  I  know  till  then  the  efiicacy  of  the 
prayer  of  faith,  that  prayer  which  asks  blessings  of  God, 
'  believing  that  it  shall  have  them.'  The  converts  in  these 
places  are  Christians  of  a  superior  style  to  the  professors 
who  have  long  filled  the  Church.  Eeligion  is  all  in  all 
with  them,  and  sits  so  naturally  upon  them,  that  even 
worldly  men  can  hardly  call  them  either  'hypocrites  or 
enthusiasts.  They  have  exemplified  nobly  the  rare  virtue 
of  making  sacrifices  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  and  the  con- 
sequence of  having  identified  themselves  so  completely 
with  him  is  that  they  are  joyful  and  assured  believers. 
They  hnoio  whom  they  have  believed." 

Thus  early  in  London  Mr.  Thomas  Hamilton,  himself 
conforming  with  Episcopacy,  saw  and  lamented  the  ten- 
dency of  High  Churchmen  and  High  Church  principles  to 
Eomish  superstition  and  to  Eome.  He,  like  many  others, 
remains  in  that  Church  to  this  day,  obtaining  in  it  suffi- 
cient communion  with  kindred  spirits  for  his  own  need, 
and  sufficient  sustenance  for  his  own  soul,  but  helpless  to 
arrest  the  progress  of  corruption  in  the  huge  ecclesiastical 
body.  The  answer  of  his  nephew,  sent  forth  from  the 
heart  of  the  great  revival,  contains  truth  on  the  point,  but 
not  the  whole  truth.  Without  the  pure  and  effective 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  there  is  no  deKverance  for  any 
church  in  any  period ;  but  besides  the  cherishing  and 
proclamation  of  the  GosxDel  by  individual  ministers,  the 
event  has  proved  that  a  reform  of  the  Prelatic  and  Eras- 
tian  system  which    prevails  in  England  is  an  absolute 


154  FATHERLY  CARE   OF  HIS  YOUNGEST  BROTHER. 

necessity.  The  revived  Popery  of  the  present  centmry 
found  the  hierarchy  of  England,  from  which  it  had  been 
driven  out  by  Henry  viii.,  a  room  empty,  swept,  and  gar- 
nished, and  ready  for  its  return. 

"Jan.  30,  1840. 
"How  do  you  get  on  with  Mr.  M'Intosh?  You  are 
getting  an  old  fellow,  Andrew,  but  I  hope  you  will  be 
learned  before  you  are  the  venerable.  You  are  not  very 
strong,  but  I  believe  you  would  be  stronger  if  you  read 
more  Latin.  Brisk  study  and  gentle  play  keep  up  the 
spirits,  and  are  good  for  a  constitution  not  naturally 
robust.  To  dream  over  a  book  is  a  bad  habit  for  the 
mind,  and  I  believe  bad  for  the  body  too.  It  brings  on 
listlessness  and  languor,  and  a  sluggish  motion  of  the 
animal  spirits,  and  these  again  bring  on  headache  and 
other  ailments.  Last  Sabbath  I  was  preaching  on  the 
fourth  commandment,  and  I  said  it  was  a  commandment 
which  some  people  reserved  for  the  Sabbath-day,  but  I 
thought  it  was  meant  for  every  day.  Six  days  shalt  thou 
labour,  and  do  all  thy  work, — labour  and  not  play.  And  I 
do  not  think  people  enjoy  the  Sabbath  rightly  unless  they 
have  been  doing  useful  work  through  the  week.  Nor  can 
people  enjoy  the  week,  on  the  other  hand,  who  have  not 
kept  the  Sabbath.  We  should  be  keeping  the  fourth 
commandment  every  day  of  the  week." 

He  has  a  father's  place  to  fill,  and  right  well  he  fills  it, 
distributing  to  each  his  portion  in  due  season. 

"25th  March  1840. — This  morning,  on  awakening  in 
Perth,  had  been  dreaming  that  I  saw  a  man  up  among  the 


A  DEEAM  :    STRATHBLANE.  155 

mountains  (of  Strathblane,  I  think),  plying  a  great  ham- 
mer with  amazing  speed  and  perseverance  on  some  refrac- 
tory substance.  Pained  looking  at  him  hour  after  hour ; 
was  told  that  this  was  the  heart  of  a  sinner.  He  did  not 
weary  repeating  his  energetic  blows,  though  I  fancied  that 
he  had  been  at  work  so  long  that  I  was  obliged  to  go 
home  to  dine.  Still  through  the  window  I  saw,  far  up 
among  the  mountains,  the  gleam  of  his  indefatigable 
hammer  as  it  tilted  up  and  down  in  the  sunbeams,  and 
heard  its  strokes  ringing  on  the  echoes,  when  I  awoke  to 
hear  the  city  bells  pealing  six  o'clock  (Strathblane,  Aber- 
nyte).  It  was  impressed  on  my  mind,  in  awaking,  that 
the  mass  was  to  yield  to  some  means.  '  My  Spirit,  saith 
the  Lord.'" 

"  Strathblane  Manpe,  June  1,  1840. 

"  My  deae  Uncle, — It  is  long  since  I  dated  a  letter  to 
you  from  this  place.  Yesterday  I  preached  for  the  first 
time  in  the  church  of  Strathblane.  My  coming  was 
known  beforehand,  and  the  church  was  very  full.  Mr. 
Buchanan  was  present,  but  did  not  hinder  me  from  speak- 
ing freely  out.  One  of  my  texts  was,  *  Awake,  thou  that 
sleepest,'  and  the  other,  'The  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say 
come.'  The  people  were  very  attentive,  biit  I  could  not 
help  feeling  that  they  were  a  more  unmovable  audience 
than  my  own  at  Abernyte.  A  few  seemed  to  feel,  but 
the  gxeater  part  only  listened.  Mr.  Buchanan  is  very 
kind  to  "William  and  me,  and  has  some  estimable  qualities." 

"HuNTLY,  June  16,  1840. 

"  My  dear  William, — Tlie  war  must  be  carried  on  at  all 
points.     Like  you,  we  have  got  Sabbath-schools,  and,  like 


156  NATURAL  HISTORY  APPARATUS. 

you,  I  mean  to  eiiligliten  tlie  cliildren  on  Bible  botany. 
This  letter  is  an  order  for  tlie  requisite  ammunition,  and, 
though  it  implies  a  vast  deal  of  trouble,  your  ecclesiastical 
zeal  will  come  to  the  help  of  your  patience,  and  your 
brotherly  love  to  the  help  of  both.  Send  me,  therefore, 
the  following  articles  : — Three  volumes  Library  of  Enter- 
taining Knoivledge, — Forest  Trees,  Fruits,  Vegetable  Sub- 
stanccs, — Harris's  Natural  History  of  the  Bible,  Paxton's 
IlliLstrations,  the  botanical  volume  (these  two  from  Divi- 
nity Library),  and,  failing  these,  any  good  book  on  tlie 
subject.  Fclinburgh  University  Annual,  if  you  can  get  it 
from  any  one,  for  my  essay.  Item,  from  Jane  the  brown 
parcel  of  fruits  which  I  gave  her,  the  cone  from  Lebanon, 
and  the  twig  of  sycamore.  Among  the  papers  in  my 
herbarium  next  the  window  is  a  twig  of  olive,  and  a  piece 
of  red  everlasting  from  Tabor.  I  think  they  are  wrapped 
up  in  a  piece  of  paper.  They  are  in  the  division  next  the 
window.  Item,  roll  up  the  palm  leaf  into  a  coil,  which,  I 
think,  may  be  done  without  breaking,  him.  Buy  a  pome- 
granate, by  all  means,  if  it  can  be  got,  a  few  almonds  and 
walni  ts,  both  in  the  shell.  In  some  apothecary's  or  per- 
fumer,.; you  may  be  able  to  get  me  a  bit  of  frankincense, 
and  it  would  be  a  great  affair  if  you  could  get  a  few  olives 
well  preserved  in  a  phial.  They  may  be  had  in  confec- 
tioners'. Also,  some  dates  from  a  fruiterer.  When  all 
these  are  packed  send  them  per  Saturday's  steamer. 
Address  them,  not  to  me,  but  Thomas  Christie,  Esq.,  mer- 
chant, Huntly,  and  they  will  come  speedily. — Ever  yours 
affectionately,  James  Hamilton." 


0  STRATHBOGTE.  157 

TO  HIS  COUSIN. 

"HuNTLY,  June  17,  1840. 
"  My  dear  James, — You  would  have  heard  from  me  ere 
now  had  I  not  been  suddenly  ordered  off  from  Edinburgh 
to  take  part  in  '  the  Eeel  of  Bogie.'^  I  crossed  that  famous 
river  on  Saturday,  and  am  likely  to  remain  here  for  some 
weeks  to  come ;  and  though  the  work  be  very  hard,  from 
the  people's  anxiety  to  hear,  I  find  that  very  anxiety  of 
theirs  animates  and  strengthens  me.  You  would  be  de- 
lighted to  see  our  crowded  congregation  of  eager  listeners, 
never  one  sleeping.  Tears,  and  looks  pale  with  anxiety, 
are  no  unusual  thing  in  these  congregations.  The  Word 
comes  with  power.  Visiting  is  very  useful,  for  when  they 
see  a  minister  go  into  a  house  a  few  neighbours  are  sure  to 
drop  in,  so  that  we  have  soon  a  little  conventicle." 

"HtTNTLY,  Aberdeenshire,  June  24,  1840. 

"  My  deae  Uncle, — Your  letter  did  not  find  me,  as  you 
expected,  quietly  settled  at  Abernyte.  It  has  followed  me 
to  the  banks  of  the  Bogie.  I  have  been  carrying  on  the 
war  in  this  debateable  ground  for  a  fortnight  past,  and 
will  remain  here  another  week.  I  do  not  grudge  my  visit 
to  this  place.  The  people  value  the  Gospel.  It  seems 
almost  as  new  to  them  as  when  Whitfield  first  carried  it  to 
the  colliers  of  Kingswood.  The  crowding  to  church  on 
Sabbath  is  a  fine  sight.  A  good  many  are  staunch  to  the 
suspended  minister,  but  in  this  town  we  have  the  large 

^  A  noted  caricatiire  of  the  period,  wbich  represented  some  of  the  most 
eminent  and  venerable  ministers  of  the  Church  in  the  act  of  dancing  tlie  reel  of 
Bogie.  This  and  similar  pleasantries,  while  they  showed  how  much  the  whole 
country  was  agitated  by  the  conflict,  did  not  turn  the  evangelical  party  one 
hair's-breadth  from  theii-  course. 


158  LAW  OVERSTRETCHED, 

majority.  Many  of  the  people  have  awakened  to  a  new 
life,  and  many  more  are  aroused,  if  they  be  not  allowed 
to  fall  asleep  again.  You  must  not  be  startled  above 
measure  if  you  soon  get  a  letter  dated  from  the  Calton 
Jail.  A  new  interdict  is  to  be  taken  out  on  Friday,  and 
it  is  said  the  seven  intend  to  enforce  it.  AVe,  of  course, 
intend  to  disregard  it.  It  would  be  dreadful  to  leave 
these  parishes  destitute  at  a  time  like  this,  when  they 
would  come  out  to  a  sermon  every  night  of  the  week  if  they 
could  get  it.  .  .  .  You  must  wait  for  my  preferment  as 
patiently  as  I  am  waiting  myself.  It  gives  me  no  anxiety. 
The  manse  garden  and  other  j)leasant  things  of  the  tem- 
poralities look  now  like  dreams  of  the  past.  Preferment 
to  reproaches  and  sufferings  seems  now  in  store  for  the 
honest  party  in  the  Church.  But  I  do  not  wish  to  make 
you  dull  by  dwelling  on  that  theme.  It  does  not  make 
me  dull,  for  I  have  looked  at  it  so  long  that  I  can  now  look 
beyond  it.  I  often  think  of  what  you  said  in  a  recent 
letter  about  first  principles.  It  is  a  pleasant  thing  to  feel 
one's  standing  secure  on  such.  Believe  me  ever,  my  dear 
Uncle,  your  affectionate  nephew, 

"  James  Hamilton." 

Mr.  Hamilton's  visit  to  Huntly  was  connected  with  one 
of  the  great  turning-points  in  the  "  Ten  Years'  Conflict," 
which  issued  in  the  Disruption  of  the  Scottish  Church. 
The  General  Assembly,  in  carrying  out  the  principle  that 
no  minister  should  be  intruded  into  a  parish  contrary  to 
the  will  of  the  congregation,  had  found  it  necessary  to 
suspend  seven  ministers  of  the  Presbyter}^  of  Strathbogie 


AND  WITH  IMPUNITY  DESPISED.  159 

for  taking  their  orders  in  that  matter  from  secular  courts, 
and  disobeying  their  ecclesiastical  superiors.  Having 
suspended  the  ordinary  ministry  in  the  district,  the  Church 
found  it  necessary  to  supply  the  people  with  the  admini- 
stration of  ordinances.  Ministers  from  the  south  were 
accordingly  despatched  in  relays  to  the  place.  The  sus- 
pended officials  demanded,  and  obtained  from  the  Court 
of  Session  an  interdict  prohibiting  the  ministers  sent  by 
the  Assembly  from  officiating  in  the  parishes.  The 
Assembly,  and  their  delegates,  acknowledged  the  com- 
petency of  the  Court,  and  obeyed  the  interdict,  in  as  far 
as  it  prohibited  them  from  making  use  of  the  parish 
churches,  schools,  and  church-yards  ;  but  in  as  far  as  it 
absolutely  interdicted  them  from  preaching  the  Gospel 
within  the  limits  of  the  territory,  they  counted  it  incom- 
petent, and  set  it  at  defiance.  In  fields,  when  the  weather 
was  favourable,  and  in  barns  granted  by  friendly  farmers, 
or  proprietors,  when  it  was  bad,  they  preached  and  ad- 
ministered the  sacraments.  Then  there  was  exhibited  the 
strange  spectacle  of  officers  watching  the  arrival  of  the 
mail  coach  on  Saturday  afternoon,  and  serving  a  copy  of 
the  interdict  on  such  passengers  as  were  deemed,  from 
their  dress,  to  be  ministers  from  the  south.  For  many 
months,  the  delegates  of  the  Assembly  exercised  their 
functions  in  open  breach  of  the  law,  as  then  declared  by 
the  Judges.  This  they  did  with  entire  impunity.  The 
principles  of  toleration,  and  the  power  of  public  opinion, 
were  too  strong  for  the  Court.  The  interdict,  though 
pronounced  and  served,  was  never  enforced.  The  results 
were  additional  strength  imparted  to  the  foundations  of 


160  SUCCESSFUL  WORK  AT  HUNTLY. 

civil  and  religious  liberty  in  the  land,  and  a  great  advance- 
ment of  evangelical  religion  in  the  district. 

"HUNTLY,  June  23,  1840. 

"  My  deae  Jane, — My  sojourn  here  for  the  present  will 
likely  terminate  next  week.  Eight  glad  would  I  have 
been  to  prolong  it.  Short  and  memorable,  like  all  pleasant 
things  :  I  will  not  take  a  final  leave,  but  keep  a  door  open 
for  a  future  visit.  They  are  far  too  interesting  a  people  to 
quit  for  good  and  all.  This  evening  I  had  a  catechizing 
in  the  church.^  .  .  . 

"  Besides  a  large  audience,  sixty  grown-up  people  pre- 
sented themselves  for  examination  from  the  district  which 
I  had  specified.  .  .  . 

"  Some  of  the  people  ask  if  I  would  not  just  stop  still  till 
the  new  church  be  bigged.  And,  indeed,  as  George  of 
Langrig  says,  '  A  body  might  happen  on  a  waur  bit.'  The 
church  attendance  is  deliglitful.  The  place  was  packed 
on  Sabbath  night.  The  people  are  very  free  in  telling 
through  the  week  what  passages  went  to  their  heart,  or 
hit  their  case.  They  are  just  in  such  a  case  that  if  they 
fall  into  heartless  hands  it  will  be  enough  to  break  my 
heart.  I  hope  some  of  them  are  past  danger.  Others 
have  not  got  that  length  but  that  they  may  relapse  into 
carelessness  if  they  be  not  plied  with  awakening  trutli.  .  .  . 

"  Never  enjoyed  better  health,  and  never  so  busy.  Have 
lost  the  feeling  of  nervousness  on  Sabbath  mornings ;  eat 
like  a  hawk,  or  rather  like  four  hawks,  for  they  take  only 
one  meal  in  the  day  and  I  take  four ;  and,  except  last 
Sabbath,  never  perspired  any." 

1  A  nonconformist  jilace  of  worsliip  lent  for  the  occasion. 


IIESULTS  OF  THE  AWAKENING.  IGl 

"Abernyte,  Oct.  5,  1S40. 

"My  dear  Uncle, — That  awakening  which  we  enjoyed 
in  this  district  last  year  seems  to  have  passed  away  to  the 
north.  It  has  left  many  peaceful  fruits  behind  it.  But  it 
is  not  a  good  state  when  the  Lord  is  not  adding  daily  to 
the  Church  such  as  shall  be  saved.  There  are  few  instances 
of  recent  conviction  now,  except  it  be  in  Mr.  M'Cheyne's 
church  in  Dundee.  But  both  in  Dundee  and  Perth,  and 
the  parishes  around,  there  is  a  great  increase  of  vital 
Christianity  since  this  time  twelvemonth. 

"  I  have  been  reading  almost  exclusively  the  works  of 
our  Scottish  worthies, — Brown  of  Wamphray,  William 
Guthrie,  and  Binning.  The  eloquence  of  this  last  is 
wonderful.  He  keeps  you  floating  in  a  balmy,  lightsome 
atmosphere,  where  you  constantly  catch  the  fragrance  of 
the  bundle  of  myrrh,  and  in  God's  purest  light  see  all 
things  clearly.  Invisibles  were  realities  with  these  old 
worthies. — Your  ever  affectionate  nephew, 

"James  Hamilton." 

During  the  summer  of  1840  an  effort  was  made,  with 
the  zealous  concurrence  of  the  aged  minister,  to  obtain 
from  Government  a  presentation  in  Mr.  Hamilton's  favour, 
■  so  that  he  might  be  immediately  ordained  as  colleague  and 
successor.  This  measure,  if  it  had  been  carried  into  effect, 
would  have  increased  his  efficiency  for  the  present,  and 
secured  his  succession  in  any  event.  The  effort,  however, 
was  destined  to  end  in  disappointment.  Various  unex- 
pected difSculties  sprung  up  to  hinder  the  attainment  of 
the  object.     The  movements  produced  some  local  com- 

L 


16  2       PIIOSPECT  OF  SETTLEMENT  AT  ABERNYTE 

motion  at  the  time,  but  tliey  do  not  possess  such  permanent 
interest  as  to  render  them  worthy  of  being  recalled  and 
recorded.  For  our  own  part  we  are  not  disposed,  at  this 
date,  to  scrutinize  very  closely  any  small  jealousies  that 
may  have  sprung  up  in  any  quarter  to  impede  the  progress 
of  the  negotiations.  We  own  a  somewhat  kindly  feeling 
towards  the  obstructors,  as  the  instruments  used  by 
Providence  in  lifting  an  effective  well-oiled  light  from  a 
hollow  with  the  circumscribed  dimensions  of  a  bushel, 
where  it  was  in  danger  of  settling  down,  and  setting  it  on 
a  candlestick,  whence  its  beams  might  radiate  through  all 
the  house.  There  are  a  good  many  people  living  now  in 
the  world  who  would  be  by  no  means  disposed,  to  quarrel 
with  either  the  men  or  the  things  that  prevented  James 
Hamilton  from  being  ordained  minister  of  Abernyte,  and 
so  paved  the  way  for  his  settlement  in  London. 

A  series  of  letters  to  the  members  of  his  own  family  will 
convey  all  the  information  regarding  the  circumstances 
that  is  profitable  or  necessary  : — 

"Abernyte,  Oct.  23,  1840. 
"  My  dear  William, —  .  .  The  heart  is  deceitful  above 
all  things,  but  in  coming  and  remaining  here  I  hope  I 
have  not  sought  my  own  things.  I  would  desire  to  say 
this  with  humility  and  thankfulness,  for  if  my  motive 
was  pure,  it  was  not  I  myself  who  made  it  pure,  I  have 
had  selfish  feelings  often,  have  sometimes  felt  my  natural 
indolence  gratified  with  the  lighter  duties  of  the  charge, 
and  at  other  times  have  felt  my  natural  ambition  aspiring 
to   somethinef  which  would  cive  me  a  wider  field  and 


FINALLY  DISAPPOINTED.  163 

greater  stimulus,  and  at  other  times  have  shrunk  from  the 
prospect  ol  protracting  years  in  a  limited  enjoyment  of 
all  your  society,  and  amidst  a  multitude  of  petty  restraints. 
And  when  I  have  prevailed  on  myself  to  hold  on,  it  was 
often  affection  and  gratitude  to  those  friends  who  are  now 
so  dear  which  weighed  most  powerfully  with  me.  But 
amidst  all  my  conflicting  and  secondary  motives  I  have 
a  trembling  hope  that  it  was  the  grace  of  God  which 
eventually  prevailed  over  my  carnality,  and  that  He  did 
enable  me  to  seek  His  honour  in  remaining  here.  He 
has  helped  me,  or  I  would  liave  wearied  long  ago.  He  has 
shown  me  things  worth  waiting  for,  and  sent  me  more 
help  and  sympathy  than  I  ever  looked  for,  and  has 
admitted  me  to  intimacy  with  some  who  live  as  near 
Himself  as  any  people  that  I  ever  saw.  I  wish  I  may 
now  be  made  submissive  to  go  or  stay  as  He  directs.  '  He 
that  believeth  shall  not  make  haste.'  Here  or  anywhere, 
your  most  affectionate  brother,  James  Hamilton." 

"Abernyte,  Oct.  24,  1840. 

"  My  dear  William, —  .  .  And  now  in  reference  to  the 
main  subject  of  your  letter,  I  see  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is 
in  it.  If  I  should  get  a  call  to  Eoxburgh  church  at  the 
present  conjuncture,  I  would  feel  that  it  was  a  call  from 
God,  and  would  accept  it,  though  it  be  a  call  to  a  fastidious 
and  gospel-beaten  city,  in  the  hope  that  He  will  teach  me 
what  to  say  (Ex.  iv.  10-12;  Eom.  i.  14,  15).  I  will  be 
sorry  to  leave  my  '  dear  harharians'  even  to  come  amongst 
you  Greeks  (I  am  not  sure  if  this  be  a  right  way  of  speak- 
ing), but  this  door  which  once  seemed  to  be  opening  wide 


164  PROPOSED  CALL  TO  EDINBUPvGH. 

is  here  closed  again.  I  feel  very  grateful  to  Mr.  Candlisli 
and  Mr.  Paul  for  keeping  me  so  long  in  remembrance. 
Say  to  Mr.  Candlisli  that  if  appointed  I  will  accept.  "Who 
all  are  the  patrons  ? 

"  Write  to  me  as  soon  as  the  matter  is  decided.  If  I 
am  to  enter  on  such  an  important  charge  I  would  like  two 
or  three  months  of  preparation,  and  would  therefore  come 
home  immediately.  I  will  forbear  to  say  more  at  present. 
Though  a  whirligig  of  schemes  is  ready  to  come  racing 
into  my  mind,  and  though  I  feel  relieved  and  thankful, 
the  very  date  of  this  letter  reminds  me  to  join  trembling 
with  my  mirth.  It  was  on  the  24th  of  October  two  years 
ago  that  I  got  a  presentation  to  Morningside.  But  if  on 
this  day  the  Lord  should  turn  our  captivity  (and  in  some 
respects  this  has  been  a  place  of  exile),  then  it  will  be  as 
it  was  with  the  sinful  Jews  in  the  year  of  their  release 
(Zech.  viii.  19).  You  must  not  tell  Mr.  Candlish  that  I 
have  an  eye  on  his  Sabbath-school  Bishop  for  the  see  of 
Eoxbm^gh. 

"Abernyte,  Nov.  18,  1840. 

"My  dear  Jane,— Tell  Willie  that  I  will  be  glad  to 
preach  in  Ptoxburgh  church  on  Sabbath  afternoon.  I 
will  not  encounter  the  whole  day ;  I  wiU  be  too  jumbled 
and  tired  for  that. 

"  I  have  been  seeing  my  dear  people  to-day.  I  bor- 
rowed jVIr.  Ptitchie's  pony  that  I  might  go  over  the  ground 
more  cleverly.  Few  shook  hands  without  tears  in  their 
eyes,  and  some  wept  bitterly.  This  people's  love  is  very 
strong.     With  some  it  is  a  sanctified  affection. 

"  I   packed   my   books   yesterday.      Andrew   Melville 


FAREWELL  TO  ABERNYTE.  165 

volunteered  to  put  on  the  lids  and  pack  the  chest  of 
drawers.  John  Miller  from  Ballindean  came  with  a  cart 
this  morning  at  five,  and  he  and  Andrew  carried  out  the 
boxes  as  quiet  as  pussy,  so  that  I  did  not  awake  to  see  if 
all  was  right,  but  have  no  doubt  that  things  would  be 
properly  done.  If  the  packages  get  away  by  to-day's 
steamer  you  should  have  them  by  to-morrow. 

"As  I  will  have  two  or  three  different  packages  by  the 
coach,  it  may  be  as  well  for  AVillie  or  Andrew  to  meet  me 
at  the  Coburg  coach- office  with  a  noddy.  In  this  way  I 
will  make  my  entry  in  state,  and  at  the  same  cost  as  if  I 
had  employed  a  porter. 

"And  this  is  my  last  letter  from  Abernyte.  A  few 
things  have  occasionally  tempted  me  to  impatience,  but 
goodness  and  mercy  have  surely  followed  me.  God  has 
given  me  wonderful  favour  with  the  congregation,  and 
with  most  of  the  parishioners,  and  now  I  know  that  I 
have  not  laboured  in  vain,  and  tliat  is  enouerh.  We  ended 
last  Sabbath  with  the  twenty-third  psalm,  and  it  is  the 
best  ending  of  my  correspondence  from  this  place." 

"Abernyte,  Nov.  13,  1840. 
"  My  dear  Uncle, — It  is  even  so.  He  who  has  fore- 
appointed  the  times  has  fixed  the  bounds  of  my  future 
habitation  in  Edinburgh.  It  is  my  great  joy  to  know  that 
He  has  done  it.  The  door  in  this  place  was  shut  (as  per- 
haps you  saw  in  the  proceedings  of  Dundee  Presbytery  in 
the  Witness  of  Oct.  31st)  on  a  Friday,  and  next  morning 
it  opened  in  Edinburgh,  for  that  morning  I  got  a  letter 
asking  if  I  would  accept  Eoxburgh  church  in  the  event  of 


166  ANTICIPATION  OF  A  NEW  SPHERE. 

a  presentation.  The  choice  by  the  ministers  and  mana- 
gers was  unanimous,  and  quite  unsolicited  by  me.  The 
charge  is  sufficiently  arduous.  The  parish  and  congrega- 
tion are  both  to  be  formed.  It  is  a  part  of  the  town 
where  there  are  many  other  churches.  But  believing  it 
to  be  the  call  of  God,  I  am  not  greatly  afraid.  There  is 
one  agreeable  circumstance.  Though  a  Voluntary  church, 
it  is  free  of  debt.  I  will  re-enter  my  mother's  house,  and 
be  a  member  of  that  Presbytery  whicli  contains  most  of 
my  friends  in  the  ministry.  But  I  must  no  longer  hope 
for  the  studious  leisure  and  moderate  toil  of  this  seques- 
tered place. 

"  God  has  been  working  in  this  place.  There  are  some 
beautiful  instances  of  transforming  grace,  and  many  in- 
quirers. Yesterday  I  had  visits  from  thirteen  people 
wishing  to  converse  with  me.  The  greater  part  of  them 
give  Scriptural  evidence  of  being  created  anew,  and  in 
most  places  all  of  them  would  pass  for  very  good  Chris- 
tians, lu  Edinburgh  they  have  a  different  standard  of 
vital  godliness.  They  love  the  world,  and  yet  are  tlie 
friends  of  God.  Still  there  are  some  eminent  saints  in 
Edinburqli." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MINISTRY  IN  EDINBURGH,  AND  REMOVAL  TO  LONDON. 

PtOXBURGH  Church,  situated  in  the  south-eastern  quarter 
of  Edinburgh,  in  the  heart  of  a  densely  peopled  district, 
had  been  occupied  by  an  able  and  worthy  minister,  Mr. 
Johnstone,  in  connexion  witli  a  section  of  Koncoiiiorming 
Presbyterians. 

Owing  to  some  peculiarities  in  the  tenure  of  the  church 
or  the  sentiments  of  the  congregation,  no  successor  was 
appointed  at  the  demise  of  Mr.  Johnstone,  and  the  con- 
tinuity of  the  coDgregational  life  was  not  maintained. 

After  a  period  of  collapse  an  arrangement  was  made  by 
which  the  chapel,  free  of  debt,  with  some  remnants  of  the 
former  congregation  still  adhering  to  it,  should  be  attached 
to  the  Established  Church,  and  placed  under  the  imme- 
diate care  of  certain  members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Edin- 
burgh. The  attention  of  the  trustees,  as  soon  as  they 
were  ready  to  nominate^  a  minister,  was  directed  to  Mr. 
Hamilton.      As  their  invitation  providentially  coincided 

1  In  the  Presbyterian  cliurclies  that  are  free,  the  uniform  rule  is  that  a 
minister  is  chosen  by  tlie  congregation ;  but  in  cases  like  this,  wliere  there  is 
not  an  organized  congregation,  tlie  first  appointment  is  made  by  tlie  trustees 
or  promoters. 


IGS  ORDINATIOX  IN  EOXBUEGH  CHURCH 

in  point  of  time  with  the  shutting  of  his  door  at  Abernyte, 
the  preliminaries  were  soon  arranged,  and  he  was  ordained 
as  minister  of  Roxburgh  church  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Edinburgh  on  the  21st  of  January  1841.  The  only  record 
of  this  event  which  I  find  among  his  own  papers  is  a 
single  line  in  a  calendar  of  daily  occupations  opposite 
the  date,  Sabbath,  24th  January  : — "  Introduced  by  Mr. 
Candlish ;  church  crowded." 

After  the  novelty  of  the  first  day  had  passed,  the  con- 
gregation, as  a  matter  of  course  in  the  circumsta?ices,  was 
very  small;  but  soon  after,  hopeful  symptoms  began  to 
appear.  A  distinguished  professor  of  the  medical  faculty 
in  tlie  University,  Mr,  Spence,  who  was  himself  at  that 
period  a  frequent  worshipper  in  Eoxburgh  church,  has 
informed  me  that  Hamilton's  ministrations  had  begun  to 
be  appreciated,  and  were  already  attracting  discriminating 
listeners  from  distant  parts  of  the  city,  when  they  were 
suddenly  brought  to  a  close.  He  was  only  five  months 
in  this  charge,  and  during  the  latter  two  of  these  it  was 
known  that  he  was  about  to  be  removed.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances it  is  obvious  that  whatever  talents  he  might 
possess  or  lack  for  acquiring  an  influential  position  in 
Edinburgh,  the  trial  was  never  made.  Another  sphere 
was  provided  for  him,  and  another  course  providentially 
marked  out.  Of  date  25th  April  1841  a  jotting  occurs  : — 
"Communion  Sabbath;  148  communicants.  A  refreshful 
day  to  all  the  serious  people  to  whom  I  spoke.  Fears 
mercifully  disappointed.  Mr.  Arnot  and  Mr.  Sommerville 
on  East-day.  ]\Ir.  Proudfoot  on  Sabbath.  ]\Ir.  Pollock  on 
Monday.     30th  IMay,  admitted  three  elders." 


BY  THE  PEESBYTERY  OF  EDI^'BUEGH.  169 

"Edinburgh,  Feb.  2,  1841. 

"  My  dear  Uncle, — After  having  met  my  new  congre- 
gation on  two  Sabbaths  and  at  one  prayer-rneeting,  I  may 
venture  to  say  that  I  like  them  well,  and  hope  for  much 
enjoyment  among  them.  The  church  has  been  well 
attended  hitherto,  but  I  cannot  expect  people  who  are 
already  attending  able  and  edifying  ministers  to  give  up 
their  present  places  of  worship  and  come 'to  me.  My 
hearers  are  still,  as  lawyers  say,  fieri.  They  are  latent  in 
the  closes  and  lanes  all  round.  I  wish  I  had  strength  to 
go  after  them. 

"  The  Presbytery  were  very  kind  on  this  occasion.  I 
believe  so  great  a  number  had  never  been  present  at  an 
ordination  before.  I  did  not  value  this  token  of  regard 
the  less  that  with  many  it  proceeded  from  respect  to  my 
father's  memory.  Last  "Wednesday  I  attended  a  meeting 
of  Presbytery.  It  is  an  interesting  consideration  to  feel 
one's-self  a  member  of  the  most  venerable  Presbytery  in 
the  Kirk.  John  Knox's  Presbytery — Dr.  Erskine's,  Sir 
Harry's,  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson's  Presbytery. 

"  And  what  are  you  saying  to  our  position  now  ?  It  is 
long  since  you  feared  that  it  would  end  in  the  overthrow 
of  the  Scottish  Establishment.  The  most  sanguine  have 
now  their  fears.  If  the  Lord  turn  this  captivity,  we  will 
be  as  men  that  dream." 

Two  letters  written  by  Mr.  Hamilton  at  subsequent 
dates  from  London  may  be  most  conveniently  introduced 
here,  as  they  refer  exclusively  to  his  brief  pastorate  in 
Edinburgh,  and  throw  an  interesting  light  on  the  charac- 


170  CORFtESPONDENCE  WITH  MEMBERS 

ter  of  the  relations  which  subsisted  between  him  and  his 
little  flock  there. 

The  assembly  of  ministers,  usually  called  the  Convoca- 
tion, at  which  the  Disruption  was  irrevocably  determined, 
held  its  sittings  in  Eoxburgh  chapel  in  November  1842. 
Mr.  Hamilton  came  from  London  to  attend  the  meeting, 
and  preached  in  the  chapel  on  the  Sabbath  that  occurred 
in  the  course  of  the  sittings.  On  that  occasion  he  was  a 
guest  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Johnstone,  his  predecessor,  who 
had  been  members  of  his  congregation.  Soon  after  his 
return  an  intimation  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Johnstone's 
sister  followed  him  to  London.  The  first  letter  is  written 
in  reply  to  this  intimation  : — 

"  7  Lansuowne  Place,  London, 
Dec.  1,  1S42. 

"  ]\Iy  dear  ]\Iks.  Johnstone, — Who  can  tell  what  a  day 
may  bring  forth  !  There  have  been  few  breaches  in  our 
congregation  since  I  came,  but  witliin  this  week  two  aged 
members  have  died.  I  was  much  struck  when,  on  Sab- 
bath, I  was  told  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Robert  Johnstone's 
brother,  who  was  ill  before  I  left  Edinburgh.  But  I  little 
thought  that  so  solemn  an  admonition  w^as  to  be  added  to 
all  these  warnings  as  that  which  came  in  Miss  Johnstone's 
letter  yesterday  morning ;  for  to  me  it  is  a  solemn  ad- 
monition, and  seems  to  lessen  the  space  between  me  and 
the  grave's  mouth,  to  think  that  almost  the  last  hand  I 
should  have  shaken  that  morning  before  leaving  Edin- 
burgh is  cold  in  death  already.  And  a  kind  and  gentle 
hand  it  was. 

"  But  I  do  not  sorrow  for  J\Iiss  Home.  It  is  well  with 
lier.     Whilst  yet  she  saw  Him  not  she  loved  the  Lord 


OF  ROXBURGH  CONGREGATION^'.        171 

Jesus ;  and  just  as  Christ  was  precious  to  lier,  so  I  am 
persuaded  she  was  precious  to  Him.  Her  tender  feelings 
and  strong  affection,  and  quiet  fireside  dispositions,  will 
make  her  be  long  missed  in  the  lessening  circle ;  but 
every  principle  and  affection  which  the  Spirit  of  God 
implanted  here  will  get  abundant  and  eternal  scope  where 
she  now  is.  The  sorrow  was  all  on  this  side.  It  was  no 
sorrow  to  leave  the  body  of  sin  and  death,  or  to  find  that 
she  was  no  longer  in  the  vale  of  tears.  And  just  as  the 
Lord  Jesus  has  taken  away  the  sting  of  death,  so  in  her 
case  He  took  away  the  bitterness  of  dying.  The  fetters 
were  softly  broken.  Miss  Charlotte  will  remember  what 
we  were  speaking  of  on  our  way  home  from  Lady  Glen- 
orchy's  that  Sabbath  evening.  The  night  has  come.  It 
is  with  a  tender  satisfaction,  and  with  more  solemn  feel- 
ings, that  I  think  that  her  last  Sabbath  in  this  life  should 
have  been  a  Sabbath  in  the  sanctuary  (a  day  truly  s2Jcnt 
in  the  courts  of  God's  house),  and  the  Sabbath  when  I 
preached ;  and  I  am  thankful  that  it  was  made  a  day  of 
refreshing  to  her  soul.  She  then  wished  '  to  follow  the 
Lord  fully,'  and  I  know  she  has  her  wish,  for  she  is  fol- 
lowing the  Lamb  whithersoever  He  goeth, 

"  I  thought  of  writing  a  few  lines  to  say  that  I  got  safely 
home,  and  to  thank  you  for  all  the  great  kindness  you 
bestowed  on  me  during  my  sojourn  with  you.  That  visit 
I  shall  now  remember  with  deepened  interest,  because  of 
what  has  happened  since.  The  Lord  the  Spirit  impress  it 
on  us  all,  that  we  may  work  while  it  is  day  !  With  our 
united  affectionate  remembrance  and  sympathy,  I  remain, 
my  dear  Mrs.  Johnstone,  ever  yours  most  truly, 

"James  Hamilton." 


172  LATER  MEMORIALS 

The  next  is  addressed  to  Mrs.  Jolmstone's  daiiditer, 
wife  of  the  Free  Churcli  minister  of  Maxwellton,  Dum- 
fries, in  reply  to  an  intimation  of  her  mother's  death  : — 

"48  EusTON  Square,  London, 
Jan.  28,  1864. 

"  Dear  Mes.  Purves, — It  was  not  without  emotion  that 
I  received  the  intimation  so  kindly  and  thoughtfully  for- 
warded to  me.  It  sent  back  my  thoughts  to  that  pleasant 
sanctuary,  so  much  more  identified  with  your  father  than 
it  was  ever  to  be  with  any  one  else,  and  to  quiet  evenings 
in  Buccleuch  Place,  when  your  mother  and  my  own  did 
not  seem  so  very  old,  and  when  your  good  and  gentle  aunt 
was  still  alive,  and  when  you  still  had  a  sister,  and  I  too 
had  one.  Now  all  except  ourselves  have  gone  into  the 
holy  place,  and  joined  the  white-robed  company,  where 
our  hope  and  prayer  are  that,  tln^ough  the  same  grace,  we 
ourselves  may  join  them.  Truly  that  alone  is  life  which  is 
lived  within  the  veil :  on  this  side  it  seems  like  a  dream. 

"  It  was  your  great  happiness  and  hers  that  your  dear 
mother  spent  her  closing  days  under  your  roof  From 
under  that  roof  all  the  more  prayer  has  therefore  ascended, 
— prayer  that  will  be  abundantly  answered  to  those  who 
still  are  its  inmates. 

"  I  hope  you  and  Mr.  Purves  will  some  day  visit  London. 
I  should  like  to  show  you  our  children,  five  of  them,  the 
oldest  as  tall  as  yourself — With  kind  regards  to  j\Ir. 
Purves,  believe  me,  yours  most  truly, 

"  James  Hamilton." 

As  an  appropriate  conclusion  to  these  tender  memorials 


OF  HIS  MINISTRY  IN  EDINBURGH.  173 

of  liis  ministry  in  Edinburgh,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place 
to  submit  the  following  letter,  addressed  to  him,  in  1860, 
by  a  young  person  whom  he  had  baptized  there.  It  will 
tell  its  own  tale  :  happy  the  minister  who  receives  such 
simple  and  hearty  testimony  regarding  his  work  in  any 
sphere  twenty  years  after  he  left  it : — 

"Edinburgh,  Decemler  .3,  1860. 

"  Dear  and  Eev.  Sir, — My  grandmother  desires  me  to 
write  you  these  few  lines,  hoping  you  will  not  think  me 
too  bold  in  doing  so.  Perhaps  you  will  remember  us  when 
I  try  to  tell  you  something  about  us.  Perhaps  you  will 
yet  remember  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Todd  who  lived  in  W.  Adam 
Street,  and  whom  you  used  to  visit  frequently.  They 
attended  your  church  in  Eoxburgh  Place,  and  they  enjoyed 
your  company  very  much  when  you  visited  them.  My 
grandfather  has  now  gone  the  way  of  all  the  earth.  Many 
a  time  he  used  to  speak  about  you.  And  now  that  my 
grandmother  is  left  all  alone,  she  seems  to  think  more  of 
the  past.  Last  night,  being  Sabbath,  she  was  telling  me 
pieces  of  sermons  you  used  to  preach,  so  you  may  take 
encouragement  from  that ;  for  it  seems  that  both  of  them 
did  derive  much  benefit  from  your  ministrations  while  you 
were  with  them.  My  grandfather  was  seventy-eight  years 
of  age  when  he  departed  from  this  vale  of  tears,  and  we 
have  the  good  hope,  through  grace,  that  he  is  now  in  glory. 
My  grandmother  is  seventy-four  years  of  age,  and  one 
cannot  think  that  she  will  be  long  among  us  here.  She 
has  a  longing  desire  to  hear  you  preach,  and  perhaps  that 
may  never  be,  yet  we  may  hope  that  you  will  yet  be  in 
Edinburgh,  and  if  spared  she  may  yet  hear  you.     If  you 


174  HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THE 

have  not  the  prospect  of  being  here,  would  you  he  kind 
enough  to  drop  a  few  lines,  as  it  would  cheer  her  much  by 
the  way.  You  will  not  take  it  amiss,  I  hope,  when  I  take 
the  liberty  of  asking  you.  My  grandmother  being  up  in 
years  now,  I  like  to  try  and  please  her  in  all  things  as  far 
as  I  possibly  can,  so  therefore  I  hope  you  will  excuse  the 
liberty  which  I  have  taken  at  this  time. — I  remain,  your 
very  affectionate,  Janet  Haimilton." 

"9  West  Adam  Street,  Edinburgli." 

As  the  National  Scotch  Church,  Regent  Square,  London, 
comes  here  into  the  foreo'round  of  our  narrative,  it  is  neces- 
sary  to  take  some  note  of  its  origin  and  early  history. 

A  chapel  in  Cross  Street,  Hatton  Garden,  was  acquired 
from  the  Swedenborgians  by  a  Gaelic  Society,  with  the 
view  of  establishing  a  service  in  that  language,  according 
to  the  forms  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  It  was  subse- 
quently made  over  to  the  Caledonian  Asylum  upon 
certain  conditions,  one  of  which  was  that  the  minister 
should  be  always  ready  to  preach  in  Gaelic  when  re- 
quired; and  on  the  18th  of  June  1818  the  Eev.  James 
Boyd  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Edinburgh  as 
the  first  minister  of  the  "  Caledonian  Church." 

Mr.  Boyd  proved  an  acceptable  and  effective  preacher, 
and  under  his  care  the  congregation  made  most  satisfac- 
tory progress.  In  those  days,  however,  even  to  a  greater 
extent  than  at  present,  England  was  considered  a  land  of 
exile  for  ministers  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  Mr. 
Boyd  soon  accepted  a  presentation  to  the  parish  of  Auch- 
inleck,  in  Ayrshire,  whence   he  was   translated    first   to 


NATIONAL  SCOTCH  CHURCH,  LONDON.  175 

Ochiltree,  and  subsequently,  in  1843,  to  the  Tron  Church 
in  Glasgow,  where  he  continued  to  minister  till  his  death. 

The  next  incumbent  of  the  Caledonian  was  ]\Ir.  A. 
M'Naughton.  Disheartened  by  the  decrease  of  the  con- 
gregation, he,  too,  returned  to  Scotland,  becoming  minister 
successively  in  Campbelton,  Arran,  and  Lesmahagow  in 
Lanarkshire. 

Hitherto  the  Directors  of  the  Caledonian, Asylum  had 
been  disappointed  in  their  expectation  of  deriving  a 
revenue  from  their  adopted  church.  On  this  occasion, 
therefore,  they  directed  special  attention  to  that  subject  in 
their  inquiries  after  a  pastor.  Whatever  other  good  quali- 
ties their  next  minister  might  possess,  it  was  essential  that 
he  should  be  an  attractive  preacher,  for  the  church  must 
be  filled  :  "  Money  must  be  obtained  to  feed  and  clothe  the 
orphans,  and  we  must,  if  possible,  get  high  seat-rents."'  In 
this  matter  these  benevolent  gentlemen  succeeded  to  their 
hearts'  desire,  and  far  beyond  their  expectations.  They 
fixed  their  eyes  on  Edward  Irving,  then  acting  as  assistant 
to  Dr.  Chalmers  in  Glasgow.  They  invited  him  to  preach 
in  the  church  ;  and,  with  more  penetration  than  had  yet 
been  exhibited  in  Scotland,  instantly  perceived  that  he  was 
their  man.  As  parties  on  both  sides  were  willing,  the 
negotiations  soon  reached  a  favourable  issue.  Even  the 
formidable  condition  of  being  always  ready  at  call  to 
preach  a  Gaelic  sermon  proved  no  barrier  in  the  way  of 
the  stalwart  son  of  the  Solway,  who  had  never  heard  a 
Gaelic  word  pronounced  in  his  life.  He  would  reside  six 
months  in  the  Highlands,  and  on  his  return  would  charm 
the  Celts  of  London  with  the  bewitching  accents  of  their 


176  EDWARD  IRVING. 

native  hills.  This  characteristically  chivalrous  offer,  how- 
ever, it  was  not  found  necessary  to  accept,  as  the  parties 
wisely  consented  to  cancel  the  embarrassing  condition. 
Ordained  in  Scotland  by  the  Presbytery  of  Annan,  Irving 
was  inducted  into  his  charge  by  the  Pre  sbytery  of  London, 
on  the  IGth  of  October  1822.  The  city  was  soon  filled 
with  the  fame  of  the  mighty  Scotchman.  His  eloquence, 
his  earnestness,  and  his  commanding  presence  combined 
to  attract  a  crowd,  and  to  rivet  the  attention  of  the  wor- 
shippers. A  fire  in  his  eye,  and  a  prophetic -like  dignity 
in  his  whole  manner,  made  people  hold  in  their  breath 
while  he  spoke.  The  church  became  inconveniently 
crowded.  The  ordinary  congregation  could  not  find  their 
places.  Persons  of  the  highest  social  rank  were  drawn  to 
the  spot  along  with  the  multitude.  Eoyal  Dukes  did  not 
disdain  to  occupy  a  pew  in  the  Presbyterian  meeting- 
house. As  many  as  thirty-five  carriages,  with  coronets, 
besides  those  of  commoners,  were  counted  at  the  door  one 
Sabbath  morning. 

The  directors  had  obtained  what  they  wished,  and 
more.  They  were  now  embarrassed  with  their  own  riches. 
The  place  was  too  strait  for  them,  and  it  became  neces- 
sary to  take  measures  for  obtaining  a  more  capacious 
structure.  A  committee  was  formed,  subscription  lists 
were  opened,  a  suitable  site  obtained,  and  on  the  1st 
July  1824  the  foundation-stone  of  the  National  Scotch 
Church  was  laid  in  Regent  Square.  So  highly  honoured, 
or  so  ambitious  had  the  Kirk  in  London  at  that  time  be- 
come, that  his  Eoyal  Highness  the  Duke  of  Clarence, 
afterwards  King  William  iv.,  had  consented  to  preside  at 


IN  EEGENT  SQUARE  CHURCH.        ]  7  7 

the  ceremony,  and  the  documents  enclosed  in  the  founda- 
tion actually  bear  that  it  was  laid  by  him ;  but  when  the 
time  arrived  the  Prince  failed  through  indisposition,  and 
the  function  was  discharged,  perhaps  more  appropriately, 
by  a  genuine  Presbyterian,  the  Earl  of  Breadalbane.  Some 
delay  occurred  ere  the  work  could  be  got  fairly  under 
weigh,  and  the  church,  which  cost,  including  the  site,  up- 
wards of  £21,000,  was  not  completed  till  May  1827.  On 
the  11th  of  that  month  it  was  formally  opened  by  Dr. 
Chalmers.  Dr.  Gordon  of  Edinburgh  occupied  the  pulpit 
on  the  succeeding  Sabbath,  and  thereafter  the  ministra- 
tions were  conducted  by  Mr.  Irving. 

The  new  church,  being  very  spacious,  was  never  incon- 
veniently crowded ;  but  during  the  whole  of  Mr.  living's 
pastorate  the  audience  continued  to  be  both  numerous 
and  distinguished.  Besides  the  ministrations  of  the 
Sabbath,  his  week-day  lectures  on  prophecy,  especially 
at  the  period  when  controversy  regarding  Catholic  Eman- 
cipation was  running  high,  attracted  very  great  attention 
in  the  metropolis.^ 

"When  a  body  at  once  weighty  and  tall  moves  forward 
with  great  rapidity,  its  momentum  becomes  dangerous  to 
itself  and  its  neighbours.  As  long  as  the  motion  proceeds 
in  a  perfectly  straight  line,  a  catastrophe  may  be  avoided ; 
but  if  the  engine  cannot  be  slowed  when  it  is  about  to 
take  a  curve,  it  behoves  all  who  are  interested  to  look 
out.      Something  will  probably  happen.     And  about  the 

1  These  facts  have  been  obtained  from  an  address  by  Alexander  Gillespie,  Esq. , 
then  a  member,  and  at  this  day  an  honoured  and  beloved  elder,  of  the  National 
Scotch  Church,  Regent  Square,  printed  in  one  of  the  Annual  Congregational 
Reports. 

M 


178  EDWAED  IRVING 

year  1830  something  did  happen  to  the  ardent  and 
eloquent  minister  of  the  Scotch  National  Church,  Im- 
pelled by  the  fire  of  his  own  s^^irit  within,  and  drawn  by 
the  plaudits  of  an  admiring  multitude  without,  Mr.  Irving's 
momentum  became  too  great.  He  could  not  stop ;  he 
could  not  even  slow.  From  expounding  prophecy,  he 
allowed  himself  to  be  drawn  on  almost  to  the  point  of 
prophesying  on  his  own  account.  The  macliine  became 
overheated  by  the  rapidity  of  its  own  motion,  and  went 
plunging  and  hissing  forward,  defying  drags  and  drivers. 
Satellites,  as  generally  happens  when  really  great  stars 
go  wandering,  began  to  cluster  round  the  chief,  burning 
more  fiercely  than  himself,  and  diverging  further  from 
the  normal  orbit  of  sober,  commonplace  worlds.  It  is 
not  expedient  to  examine  and  develop  here  the  doctrinal 
aberrations  which  the  Presbytery,  in  the  exercise  of  their 
duty,  charged  against  Mr.  Irving.  The  events  have  long 
since  passed  away ;  and  such  parts  of  them  as  still  linger 
in  life  amongst  us,  have  gone  far  ahead  of  their  own 
beginnings.  'Not  of  purpose  prepense  was  Edward  Irving 
a  heretic  :  the  heresies  were  perhaps  not  a  proper  brood 
of  the  intellect  at  all.  They  seem  to  have  been  a  sort  of 
spontaneous  generation  favoured  by  immense  fervour  of 
spirit,  and  immense  velocity  of  motion.  But,  however 
generated,  when  they  did  reach  the  region  of  the  intellect, 
they  were  owned  and  held,  and  not  recanted.  Then  the 
issue  became  inevitable,  for  the  accused  was  a  Presby- 
terian. There  is  sense  in  the  head  of  the  Presbyterian 
system,  and  a  bone  in  its  sleeve.  What  it  j^rofesses  it 
practises  ;  what  it  begins  it  goes  through  with.     Not  to 


DEPOSED  BY  HIS  PRESBYTERY.  179 

speak  of  the  higher  affairs  of  Scriptural  order,  it  under- 
stands the  first  principles  of  self-preservation.  It  will  not 
permit  a  member  of  the  body  to  defy  the  authority  of  the 
head.  It  looks  with  sorrowful  pity  on  a  church,  how  great 
and  venerable  soever,  that  lacks  the  will  or  the  power  to 
sever  a  member  who  denies  its  doctrines,  and  yet  eats  its 
bread.  The  Presbyterian  Church,  at  all  events,  under  the 
softening  influences  of  modern  Christian  thought,  is  slow 
to  note  a  stumble  ;  it  would  rather  wink  at  an  eccentri- 
city or  two,  in  the  hope  of  spontaneous  recovery ;  but 
when  it  does  arise  to  judgment,  it  carries  out  its  own 
rules  without  fear  or  favour.  If  the  safety  of  the  body 
does  demand  the  severance  of  a  diseased  member,  this 
surgeon  will  not  sicken  at  the  sight  of  blood.  The  health 
of  the  Church  has  in  this  generation  often  been  greatly 
promoted  by  the  firmness  of  its  discipline. 

In  the  beginning  of  May  1832,  My.  Irving  was  excluded 
from  the  National  Church  by  the  sentence  of  his  superiors. 
"What  followed  with  him  personally,  we  are  not  bound 
to  narrate  here.  With  a  tender  sorrow  we  follow  the 
memory  of  a  great  and  good  man.  Flung  by  wayward 
impulses,  which  he  counted  heavenly  inspirations,  from  a 
solid  position  of  usefulness,  he  never  afterwards  was  able 
to  get  a  firm  influential  stand-point.  Broken  in  health, 
and  separated  from  the  friends  of  his  youth,  who  still 
loved  and  revered  him,  he  soon  dropt  out  of  the  front  rank, 
and  was  early  taken  away  from  the  evil  to  come. 

When  it  escaped  from  his  hands,  the  movement  which 
his  force  first  generated  became  wayward  enough ;  and 
now  it  marches,   and  bends   and  burns  caudles  with  as 


180  EDWARD  IRVING 

much  childish  earnestness  as  any  of  its  neighbour  ritual- 
ists, whether  Anglican  or  Eomish. 

The  rise  and  fall  of  Edward  Irving,  briefly  sketched  by 
Dr.  Hamilton  at  a  later  date,  will  find  here  its  most  appro- 
priate place.^ 

"  Towards  this  hot  and  hazy  capital  was  tending,  during 
the  dog-days  of  1822,  a  genial  and  magnificent  spirit,  such 
as  is  rarely  found  amongst  the  sons  of  men.  No  mere 
spirit,  however;  for  the  eye  was  met  by  a  splendid 
colossus,  which  towered  head  and  shoulders  above  Cock- 
aigne. He  was  a  preacher.  He  regarded  himself  as  a 
messenger  from  the  living  God  to  dying  but  immortal 
men ;  and  there  was  nothing  which  any  preacher  had 
ever  been — Luther,  Chrysostom,  the  Baptist — but,  in  the 
name  of  his  God,  he  believed  that  he  might  venture,  and, 
with  the  help  of  his  God,  repeat.  With  a  great  forthgoing 
towards  the  common  people,  he  did  not  despair  of  standing 
before  kings  ;  and  he  liked  to  entertain,  as  a  possible 
consummation,  the  prospect  of  martyrdom.  Loyal  to  God, 
he  was  impatient  at  the  scanty  justice  which  the  truths  of 
God — all  save  some  two  or  three — receive  at  the  hands  of 
the  modern  ministry ;  and  reverential  towards  the  past, 
his  contemplation  of  Christianity  as  it  existed  in  his 
Albigensian  and  covenanting  forefathers,  made  him  dis- 
dainful of  the  cozy,  self- coddling  ways  of  modern  profes- 
sorship. It  is  a  great  thing  to  have  life,  and  to  have  it 
more  abundantly,  Superior  insight  makes  a  cold  nature 
cynical ;  it  only  made  Edward  Irving  an  idealist.  With  a 
physical  overflow,  which  in  its  prodigal  excess  courted  toil 

1  Evangelical  Christendom,  March  1866. 


SKETCHED  BY  DE.  HAMILTON.  181 

and  feared  no  exhaustion,  he  had  a  heart  which  held  the 
whole  of  London.  Accepting  the  call  of  his  fifty  Cale- 
donians as  an  invitation  from  the  nnited  million,  on  a 
high  spring-tide  of  hope  and  gratitude  he  flowed  in  upon 
the  capital,  and,  in  proud  consciousness  of  the  wealth 
which  could  enrich  it,  at  once  began  to  unlade  his  argosy. 
It  did  not  matter  that  London  was  out  of  town,  or  that 
Hatton  Garden  was  a  name  vmknown  in  the  haunts  of 
fashion  :  He  who  had  cjiven  him  his  talents  and  his  com- 
mission,  had  also  given  him  an  open  letter  of  introduc- 
tion to  all  mankind,  and  confident  in  their  goodwill,  and 
assuming  their  actual  presence,  he  instantly  began. 

"  Before  going  southwards  he  had  mentioned  to  a  friend 
his  great  desire  '  to  make  a  demonstration  for  a  higher 
style  of  Christianity,  something  more  magnanimous,  more 
heroical  than  this  age  affects.'  ^  The  purpose  was  in  keep- 
ing not  only  with  his  exalted  conception  of  the  Christian 
character,  but  with  the  grandeur  of  his  own  spirit ;  and 
with  a  httle  more  practical  wisdom  the  effect,  which  was 
for  the  moment  unprecedented,  might  have  endured  to 
this  day.  By  bringing  out  the  fulness  of  the  boundless, 
all-embracing  Bible,  and  by  carrying  hearers  who  had 
hitherto  rested  in  texts  riirht  into  the  truths  which  these 
texts  contain,  he  relieved  evangelism  from  the  reproach  of 
intellectual  poverty,  and  whilst  extorting  from  many 
minds  their  first  homage  to  the  Gospel,  he  made  others 
feel  as  if  under  his  leadership  they  could  start  afresh  and 
go  on  to  perfection.  And  he  himself  went  grandly. 
Living  in  the  presence  of  the  King  of  kings,  and  never 

1  His  letter  to  Dr.  Martin,  quoted  in  Mrs.  Olipliant's  Li/c,  vol.  i.  p.  141. 


182  iflVING's  EARLY  GREATNESS 

for  a  moment  forgetting  his  liigli  calling,  liis  bearing  was 
august,  and  from  before  the  steps  of  his  straightforward 
faith  mountains  and  sycamine  trees  were  removed.  And 
whilst  walking  with  God  thus  loftily,  it  was  a  marvellous 
fund  of  loving-kindness  which  he  carried  forth  among  his 
fellow-men.  Taking  the  little  children  in  his  arms,  and 
blessing  them  as  no  one  had  ever  done  since  his  Master 
said,  '  Let  them  come  unto  me  ; '  casting  the  spell  of  his 
own  transcendentalism  over  commonplace  people,  and 
leaving  them  thenceforward  on  a  higher  level. 

"  Looking  to  the  gifted  men  who  crowded  to  his  church, 
and  who  from  his  profuse,  suggestive  sermons  received 
new  germs  of  thought,  as  from  his  valiant,  outspoken 
faith  they  derived  new  impressions  of  divine  realities,  for 
the  first  three  or  four  years  it  was  an  unprecedented  min- 
istry. At  last,  yielding  partly  to  his  own  excursive  in- 
stincts, partly  to  the  temptation  to  tell  some  new  thing  to 
an  excited  throng,  who  returned  Sunday  after  Sunday 
expecting  a  new  sensation,  historical  themes,  like  John  the 
Baptist,  were  exchanged  for  prophecy,  and  speculations 
regarding  the  source  of  the  Saviour's  sinlessness,  such  as 
racked  Oriental  ingenuity  in  the  early  ages,  took  the  place 
of  the  lively  oracles.  The  higher  that  the  speculation 
soared,  and  the  further  behind  that  it  left  the  personal  and 
the  practical,  the  better  it  suited  that  class  of  hearers  who 
think  nothing  so  tiresome  as  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
and  the  Ten  Commandments ;  and  the  wilder  that  it 
grew,  the  more  it  was  enjoyed  by  those  devotees  who 
mistake  for  pious  feeling  a  sort  of  spiritual  galvanism. 
Such  persons  now  became  Irving's   inner  circle.     They 


AND  SUBSEQUENT  FALL.  183 

closed  around  him,  and  appropriated  him ;  they  shut  out 
friends  who  were  not  the  less  affectionate  because  they 
were  sober-minded ;  and  surrounded  by  a  coterie  of  char- 
latans and  moonshiny  mystics,  visionary  men  and  hysteri- 
cal women,  who  domineered  and  flattered  by  turns,  nothing- 
remained  but  to  drift  helplessly  on  in  the  dizzy,  imperious 
vortex.  The  buoy  which  good  sense  flung  in  to  his  rescue 
he  hurled  back  with  disdain,  and  when,  with  the  tear  in 
its  eye,  ancient  friendship  held  out  its  hand,  the  offer  was 
tearfully  declined.  Sermons  were  preached  on  the  restora- 
tion to  the  church  of  miraculous  gifts,  and  weird  prayer- 
meetings  were  held  in  the  dark  cold  mornings,  followed  by 
strange  colloquies  and  expoundings  throughout  the  day ; 
till  the  natural  upshot  was  that  outburst  of  '  tongues ' 
which,  in  the  words  of  Carlyle,  brought  'Bedlam  and 
chaos '  into  the  new  church  in  Eegent  Square. 

"  The  humiliating,  heart-breaking  sequel  we  need  not 
trace.  The  dupe  of  his  own  imagination,  still  more  the 
victim  of  misplaced  affection — for  all  along  much  of  his 
creed  had  been  absorbed  into  the  system  through  the  fancy 
and  through  his  cordial,  admiring  tendencies — the  idealist 
had  become  the  simple  visionary.  Up  the  sides  of  the 
gallant  ship  there  swarmed  a  motley  crowd;  old  and 
loyal  friends  were  sent  ashore ;  and  all  landmarks  lost, 
all  autonomy  completely  gone,  enthusiasts  in  their  folly 
and  coxcombs  in  their  arrogance  took  the  helm  by  turns, 
till  the  shattered  hull  was  drawn  ashore,  and  the  mournful 
voyage  ended  where  '  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and 
the  weary  are  at  rest.'  " 

Our  business  lies  with  the  English  Presbyterian  Church 


184       SUBSEQUENT  HISTORY  OF  THE  CONGREGATION. 

in  general,  and  with  the  National  Scotch  Church  of  London, 
in  particular ;  to  it  accordingly  we  return. 

At  the  termination  of  Mr.  Irving's  connexion  with  the 
church,  the  congregation  found  themselves  reduced  to  a 
handful,  and  burdened  with  a  debt  of  £10,000.  So  far 
from  succumbing  to  their  difficulties,  however,  they  deter- 
mined to  obtain  relays  of  eminent  ministers  from  Scotland 
to  supply  the  pulpit,  and  in  the  meantime  to  reduce,  by 
one-half,  their  pecuniary  liability.  In  both  efforts  they 
completely  succeeded.  The  debt  was  reduced  by  subscrip- 
tions to  £5000,  and  the  diminished  burden  was  then 
cheerfully  sustained.  By  obtaining  supplies  in  succession 
from  Scotland,  the  congregation  enjoyed  for  a  time  such  a 
variety  of  gifts  as  compensated  in  some  measure  for  the 
want  of  a  settled  ministry. 

After  a  protracted  vacancy,  INIr.  Peter  M'Morland  was 
ordained  pastor  of  the  church  on  the  17th  of  April  1835. 
During  his  ministry  the  congregation  was  largely  increased 
in  numbers,  but  he  too,  after  serving  about  four  years, 
retired  to  a  charge  in  Scotland,  and  left  the  much-tried 
congregation  once  more  as  a  flock  without  a  shepherd. 

During  the  whole  of  this  sifting  period,  a  band  of  leal- 
hearted  and  devoted  men  held  office  in  the  National 
Church.  By  their  high  character,  and  mutual  love,  and 
patient  energy,  they  steered  the  vessel  through  all  the 
storms.  Holdiug  by  faith  to  the  Head,  and  by  love  to 
one  another,  they  never  lost  hope,  and  never  slackened 
their  exertions,  until,  by  God's  good  hand  upon  them,  a 
day  of  prosperity  returned.  In  their  case,  as  in  the  ex- 
perience of  many  others,  man's  extremity  was  God's 
opportunity.      It  is  ordinarily  "out  of  the  depths"  that 


MR.  HAMILTON  SUGGESTED  AS  MINISTER.  185 

the  keenest  cries  ascend  to  tlie  throne  of  Grace ;  and,  in 
answer  to  the  request  of  those  who  saw  no  help  in  man, 
the  Lord  did  at  length  send  a  qualified  labourer  into  that 
portion  of  his  harvest-field. 

In  the  spring  of  1841,  a  deputation  from  the  Church  of 
Scotland  had  occasion  to  visit  London,  in  connexion  with 
some  of  the  great  ecclesiastical  questions  that  were  then 
agitating  the  public  mind.  The  elders  of  E'egent  Square 
seized  the  opportunity  of  laying  their  case  before  the  men 
who  were  in  a  position  at  once  to  comprehend  the  nature 
of  the  claim,  and  to  suggest  the  method  of  meeting  it.  In 
an  interview  with  Dr.  Candlish,  Dr.  Buchanan,  ]Mr.  Dunlop, 
and  others,  they  explained  their  position,  and  requested 
aid.  The  Scottish  brethren  intimated  on  the  spot  that 
they  had  their  eye  on  a  young  minister  who,  if  he  could 
be  induced  to  accept  a  call,  would,  in  their  judgment,  more 
than  compensate  for  all  the  disappointments  that  the  con- 
gregation had  experienced.  As  this  minister  had  only 
been  a  few  months  settled  in  his  first  charge,  they  were 
not  certain  of  success,  but  they  would  do  what  they  could 
on  their  return  to  Scotland.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days, 
as  the  result  of  this  negotiation,  the  elders  of  Kegent 
Square  learned  from  their  friends  that  Mr.  James  Hamilton, 
of  Eoxburgh  Church,  Edinburgh,  had  consented  to  come  to 
London,  and  preach  for  two  Sabbaths  to  the  congregation. 
One  of  the  sermons  preached  on  that  occasion  in  Eegent 
Square  was  subsequently  published  under  the  title  "  The 
Opening  of  the  Prison."  ^  I  have  been  informed,  on  very 
good  authority,  that  this  discourse  made  the  deepest  im- 
pression, and  largely  contributed  to  determine  the  choice 

^  Morgan  and  Chase,  38  Liulgate  Hill. 


186  "  THE  OPENING  OF  THE  PRISON. 

of  the  congregation.  In  these  circumstances,  it  becomes 
a  matter  of  interest  and  importance  to  look  into  that  little 
tract  as  a  specimen  of  his  style  at  the  period.  It  differs 
considerably  from  his  ordinary  methods  in  his  later  years. 
It  is  probable  that  it  fairly  represents  his  manner  of  pre- 
senting and  pressing  the  gospel  at  Abernyte,  and  in 
Edinburgh ;  and  this  supposition  goes  far  to  explain  at 
once  the  deep  impression  made  on  all  the  more  susceptible 
spirits  of  his  flock  in  the  country,  and  the  opposition 
successfully  made  by  a  smaller,  but  more  influential  class, 
to  his  permanent  settlement  in  the  parish.  The  "  Opening 
of  the  Prison  "  reminds  the  reader  at  once  of  Bunyan  and 
of  Baxter.  The  leading  conceptions,  from  first  to  last,  are 
allegorical,  and  the  appeals  are  peculiarly  solemn  and 
searching.  There  is  a  plainness  and  pungency,  amounting 
in  some  places  almost  to  roughness,  in  applying  his  lesson 
to  the  conscience,  which  forms,  in  some  measure,  a  contrast 
to  the  gentleness  and  delicacy  which  characterized  his 
subsequent  ministrations. 

Nothing  can  be  more  interesting  in  the  natural  history 
of  the  spiritual  life  than  the  study  of  this  sermon  in  con- 
nexion with  the  date  of  its  origin.  It  bears  unmistakable 
marks  of  William  Burns  and  Eobert  M'Cheyne,  and  the 
revival  in  Dundee.  It  glows  with  the  spirit ;  and  is  more 
concerned  to  strike  hard  than  to  refine  the  sentiment. 
"  On  the  outer  door  of  the  prison-house  were  not  only  the 
bolts  and  bars  which  Satan  had  put  on,  but  there  was  the 
adamantine  lock  of  eternal  justice  also.  Jehovah  himself 
had  put  it  on.  In  the  day  that  Adam  sinned,  Jehovah 
shut  the  sinner  in,  and  justice  locked  the  door,  and  flung 
the  key  into  the  ocean  of  the  wrath  of  God.     It  sank  into 


MR.  Hamilton's  earlier  style.  187 

the  mighty  waters,  and  before  Immanuel  could  open  tlie 
brazen  gates,  he  was  seen  to  plunge  headlong  into  that 
tide  of  wrath,  and  then,  emerging  from  its  abyss,  he  went 
right  up  to  the  gates  of  the  devil's  stronghold,  and  as  the 
wards  of  that  inviolable  lock  recognised  the  long-lost  key, 
the  bolt  of  justice  flew  back.  That  achievement  cost 
Immanuel  his  life,"  etc.,  etc.  Such  is  the  conception,  ex- 
pressed in  bold,  sharp  terms,  with  no  attempt  to  make  the 
angles  easy,  which  sank  into  our  informant's  ear,  and 
remained  written  on  his  memory  after  an  interval  of 
nearly  thirty  years. 

Everything  is  beautiful  in  its  place  and  time.  It  is 
rougher  chiselling,  and  bolder  features,  that  you  expect 
from  the  ardent  youth,  fresh  from  the  quickening  converse 
of  apostolic  men,  and  the  strong  cries  of  awakened  sinners  ; 
in  quieter  and  more  experienced  years  substantially  the 
same  forms  will  emerge,  with  more  rounded  outlines,  and 
mellower  tints. 

Mr.  Hamilton  had  considered  the  whole  case,  and 
siibstantially  decided  it  before  he  agreed  to  this  preli- 
minary experiment.  He  was  well  aware  of  the  awkward- 
ness and  inconvenience  of  breaking  up  his  connexion  with 
the  Eoxburgh  congregation,  when  it  was  only  a  few 
months  old ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  comprehended 
thoroughly  the  superior  importance  of  London,  and  saw 
that  the  less  ought  to  yield  to  the  greater.  Besides,  the 
recency  of  his  settlement  in  Edinburgh  might  tell  also  on 
the  other  side.  If  he  should  leave  that  sphere  at  all,  it 
might  be  as  well  to  leave  it  before  his  roots  had  gone  deep 
into  the  soil.  After  a  year  or  two  the  removal  might  have 
been  more  difficult. 


188  SETTLEMENT  IN  LONDON. 

!N"or  can  it  be  overlooked  or  denied  that  the  metropolis 
presented  to  Mr.  Hamilton  various  attractions,  bearing 
both  directly  and  indirectly  on  his  ministerial  work.  His 
literary  tastes,  and  his  consciousness  of  j)Ower  in  those 
departments,  contributed  legitimately  to  the  determination 
which  was  ultimately  adopted.  The  happy  visit  paid  to 
his  uncle  in  1838  had  providentially  prepared  the  way,  by 
giving  him  many  glimpses  of  insight  into  the  mighty 
stream  of  hfe  that  flows  through  London.  He  was  enabled 
to  measure  the  influence  which  the  city  exercises  on  the 
empire  and  on  the  world ;  and  with  an  enlightened  and 
patriotic  ambition  was  willing,  when  an  opportunity 
occurred,  to  contribute  his  own  life  and  talents  to  the 
service  of  God  and  man  on  that  field  where  they  could 
be  laid  out  to  the  greatest  advantage. 

When  sounded  on  the  subject  in  London,  at  the  close  of 
his  preliminary  visit,  Mr.  Hamilton  frankly  acknowledged 
that  though  nothing  could  be  finally  decided  at  that  date, 
he  was  prepared  to  consider  favourably  any  call  that 
might  reach  him  from  the  congregation  of  Eegent  Square. 
A  harmonious  call  accordingly,  with  the  necessary  presby- 
terial  formalities,  was  immediately  sent,  and  in  due  time 
accepted.  The  various  steps  required  in  tlie  case  of  a 
translation  were  taken  in  the  usual  way  without  any 
remarkable  incident ;  and  after  being  formally  inducted 
by  the  Presbytery  of  London,  Mr.  Hamilton  was  introduced 
to  his  new  charge  on  Sabbath,  25th  July  1841,  by  Dr. 
Gordon  of  Edinburgh,  in  that  year  Moderator  of  the 
General  Assembly. 


CHAPTEE  V. 

FEOM  HIS  SETTLEMENT  IN  LONDON,  1841,  TO  TH^  DISRUPTION 
OF  THE  SCOTTISH  CHURCH,  1843. 

After  tlie  date  of  his  removal  to  London  the  narrative 
will  necessarily  be  less  minute  and  continuous,  and  this 
for  two  reasons, — first,  because,  under  the  pressure  of  a 
more  exacting  public  sphere,  his  private  memorials  natur- 
ally become  more  scanty ;  and,  second,  because  the  editor, 
busy  with  his  own  duties  at  a  great  distance,  could  not 
take  particular  note  of  facts  as  they  occurred,  and  that 
lack  can  never  be  afterwards  made  up.  There  is,  however, 
the  less  reason  to  regret  the  comparatively  meagre  history 
of  his  daily  life  in  its  maturer  stages,  because  then  it  was 
a  light  set  on  a  hill,  and  all  might  see  it ;  whereas  the 
progress  of  his  mind,  and  especially  of  his  spiritual  life  in 
his  earlier  years,  was  little  known  until  now  that  this 
memoir  has  revealed  it.  AVe  submit  further  at  this  point, 
that  perhaps  the  most  valuable  service  that  a  biography  can 
render,  is  to  lay  open  the  springs  of  a  life  for  the  benefit 
of  those  who  have  been  arrested  by  its  force  in  maturity ; 
as  when  we  have  navigated  with  profit  the  lower  reaches 
of  a  great  river  near  the  sea,  we  desiderate  an  explorer 
who  shall  reach  and  reveal  to  us  its  source  in  the  interior. 

If  the  record  of  successive  events  be  henceforth  less 


190  H ALLEY  AND  HAMILTON, 

complete,  notices  of  liis  many  literary  labours  may  profit- 
ably take  tlie  place  of  a  more  detailed  personal  history. 

After  the  death  of  James  Halley  a  demand  sprang  up 
in  the  Christian  community  of  Glasgow  for  some  memoir 
of  his  life.  The  task  of  preparing  it  was  by  common  con- 
sent assigned  to  Mr.  Hamilton  and  the  compiler  of  this 
memoir  conjointly.  We  had  only  begun  to  form  our  plan 
for  the  distribution  of  the  labour  when  he  was  summoned 
from  Edinburgh  to  London.  Partly  on  account  of  the 
distance  rendering  united  action  more  difficult,  but  mainly 
because  of  the  exacting  and  exhausting  claims  of  his  new 
sphere,  he  reluctantly  withdrew  from  the  partnership,  and 
so,  providentially,  the  honour  of  performing  that  labour 
of  love  fell  to  the  remaining  member  of  the  firm.  Mr. 
Hamilton,  however,  gladly  consented  to  revise  the  proof 
sheets,  and  the  memoir  profited  by  his  affectionate  and 
sagacious  suggestions.  In  three  successive  editions  the 
little  book  served  its  generation ;  and  has  now,  in  a  figure, 
fallen  asleep  in  as  far  as  the  publishers'  lists  are  concerned, 
but  it  has  not  yet  faded  from  the  memory  of  those  sur- 
vivors who  shared  the  friendship  or  admired  the  learning 
of  that  extraordinary  young  man. 

Of  those  three  students  who  met  in  the  dingy  quad- 
rangle of  Glasgow  College,  about  forty  years  ago,  and 
enjoyed  for  several  seasons  there  a  tender  and  hallowed 
brotherhood  both  in  the  prosecution  of  human  science  and 
the  exercise  of  the  spiritual  life,  the  sole  survivor  has  been 
led  through  a  noteworthy  and  solemnizing  experience. 
He  was  the  oldest  of  the  three,  and  yet  it  has  been  his 
singular  lot  to  begin  his  own  literary  life-work  by  compos- 


ONE  TAKEN  AND  THE  OTHER  LEFT.      191 

ing  tlie  memoir  of  one  of  liis  friends,  and  to  close  it  by 
composing  the  memoir  of  the  other.  His  hand  is  steady 
as  he  traces  these  lines,  and  his  eye  clear;  he  stands  in 
awe  as  the  question  rises,  Wherefore  has  he  been  spared  ? 
The  ripe  have  been  taken,  and  that  same  Sun  of  Eighteous- 
ness  who  made  them  mellow  early,  is  able  also  to  fill  and 
sweeten  in  His  own  time  those  survivors  who  even  unto 
old  age  retain  much  of  the  greenness  and  -acidity  that 
belongs  to  a  too  close  rootinii  into  the  earth. 

These  two  have  entered  within  the  veil ;  a  quarter  of  a 
century  intervened  between  the  dates  of  their  departure. 
Halley  was  the  greater,  both  in  learning  and  sheer  power  of 
intellect ;  but  Hamilton  excelled  in  feminine  tenderness  of 
spirit,  and  the  imaginative  or  analogical  faculty  which  lies 
at  the  foundation  of  all  poetry.  Both  alike  were  recon- 
ciled unto  God  through  the  death  of  His  Son,  and  ardently 
devoted  to  the  service  of  the  Lord  that  bought  them.  One 
was  called  "  up  higher"  ere  his  ministry  began ;  the  other 
was  promoted  to  the  general  assembly  of  the  first-born 
that  are  written  in  heaven,  after  a  public  ministry  of  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Both  understand  the  matter 
now,  and  sing  in  concert,  "  He  hath  done  all  things  well." 

James  Halley,  himself  at  once  a  great  scholar  and  a 
sound  judge  of  character,  said  of  his  friend  Hamilton, 
while  both  were  students  at  Glasgow,  that  he  was  peculi- 
arly qualified,  and  therefore  probably  destined,  to  serve 
the  Church  with  his  pen.  This  estimate  the  result  has 
proved  to  be  just.  From  a  very  early  age  he  had  been 
constantly  exercising,  and  so  improving,  his  gift.  He 
was  yet  a  slender  boy  when  he  wrote  biographies,  and 


192  LITERAEY  WORK — TRACTS. 

offered  them  to  the  Eeligious  Tract  Society.  About  the 
same  period,  iu  college  vacations,  he  was  wont  to  deliver 
lectures  on  chemistry  and  kindred  subjects  to  his  father's 
parishioners  at  Strathblane.  The  memoir  of  his  father, 
although  in  his  maturer  years  he  desired  to  revise  and 
amend  it,  was  creditable  to  his  courage  and  skill,  as  well 
as  to  his  filial  reverence.  During  the  later  years  of  his 
course  at  college,  especially  in  Edinburgh,  he  wrote  much 
for  the  press,  and  wrote  well.  In  biography,  criticism, 
and  the  discussion  of  the  questions  between  Church  and 
State  that  were  then  agitated,  he  had  obtained  a  good 
degree.  But  it  was  in  that  middle  sphere  where  science 
comes  in  contact  with  theology  that  he  found  his  most 
congenial  occupation. 

Settled  as  the  minister  of  a  Christian  congregation  in 
London,  he  now  found  himself  precisely  in  the  sphere  best 
fitted  for  the  effective  outlay  of  the  talent  intrusted  to  his 
care.  Although  pastoral  work  was  heavy  and  exacting,  it 
did  not  absorb  all  his  energies.  Literary  effort,  indeed, 
was  with  him  an  irrepressible  instinct.  He  was  too  in- 
telligent and  faithful  a  servant  to  hide  in  the  ground  a 
specific  talent  given  to  him  by  his  Lord. 

The  first  product  of  his  pen  in  London  was  in  its  theme 
and  method  eminently  characteristic.  It  was  a  tract 
entitled  "The  Church  in  the  House,"  and  had  for  its 
object  to  recommend  the  observance  of  family  worship. 
In  style  and  manner,  as  well  as  in  substance,  it  presents 
at  once  the  strongly  marked  idiosyncracies  of  the  man. 

As  a  writer  of  religious  tracts  he  adopted  at  first,  and 
maintained  ever  afterwards,  a  well  defined  and  original  style. 


THEIR  PECULIAR  STYLE.  193 

It  was  all  his  own ;  not  so  mucli  that  he  constructed  it, 
as  that  it  flowed  naturally  from  the  character  of  his  mind. 

The  series  of  tracts  wliich  began  with  "  The  Church  in 
the  House"  would  have  made  his  name  dear  to  the  Church  of 
Clirist,  although  he  had  done  nothing  in  other  departments. 
Each  several  tract  exerted  a  power  at  the  time,  and  has 
left  its  mark  on  the  religious  history  of  the  period.  These 
messengers,  as  they  successively  appeared,  attracted  much 
attention,  and  provoked  much  criticism.  Ecclesiastical 
red  tape  was  rudely  shaken,  and  much  scandalized.  The 
tracts  of  this  new  adventurer  did  not  march  rank  and  file 
like  so  many  soldiers.  They  did  not  keep  step,  and  knew 
nothing  of  the  regulations.  They  dared  to  seize  plain 
facts  and  set  them  forth  in  a  homely,  piquant  style,  and 
altogether  natural  order.  But  the  greatest  shock  was 
given  by  a  certain  vein  of  humour  that  could  be  detected 
here  and  there  under  the  surface,  and  occasionally  might 
even  be  seen  boldly  cropping  out.  Sometimes  the  reader 
was  beguiled  into  a  smile  ere  he  knew  what  he  was  about ; 
but,  in  all  probability,  ere  he  turned  the  page  his  eyes 
were  moistened  by  a  tear.  These  tracts  did  not  let  a  man 
alone;  they  gTasped  him  without  asking  his  leave,  and 
shook  him  about  from  side  to  side  until  they  shook  the 
indifierence  out  of  him.  A  tract  with  hills  and  dales  in 
it,  like  a  landscape  of  nature,  is,  in  one  respect  at  least, 
better  than  those  that  maintain  the  dead  level — people 
buy  it  and  read  it.  It  does  not  cost  so  much  to  get  it  cir- 
culated, and  it  is  not  so  apt  to  be  laid  on  the  shelf. 

"  The  Church  in  the  House"  was  eminently  useful     We 
know  of  cases  in  the  country  where  the  distribution  of  it 

N 


194  FAMILY  WORSHIP. 

was  followed  by  a  great  increase  of  family  worship.  Its 
peculiar  power  lay  in  tlie  happy  skill  witli  which  it  relieved 
the  exercise  of  its  formidable  character,  and  gently  intro- 
duced it  as  a  pleasure  and  a  privilege.  Without  diminish- 
ing in  aught  the  solemnity  of  divine  worship,  as  conducted 
in  the  family  circle,  he  did  much  to  remove  the  stiffness 
and  austerity  with  which,  especially  in  Scotland,  it  had 
become  too  much  associated.  It  was  his  blessed  function, 
on  this  and  many  other  kindred  themes,  to  throw  in  the 
glow  of  his  own  more  bhthe  and  buoyant  hopefulness  to 
help  inexperienced  and  timid  spirits,  who  somehow  fell 
into  the  error  of  supposing  that  they  could  not  be  rightly 
religious  without  being  and  appearing  frightened  and  sad. 
He  had  largely  learned  in  liis  own  experience  the  scriptural 
principle,  that  "the  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength;"  and 
he  most  lovingly  laid  himseK  out  to  teach  the  precious 
secret  to  others.  It  is  a  high  honour  to  have  won  many 
families  over  to  the  practice  of  private  social  worship,  by 
showing  them  that  the  commandment  of  God  in  that 
matter  "  is  not  grievous." 

As  there  were  "  Eeformers  before  the  Eeformation,"  so 
there  were  earnest  unionists  among  the  churches  before 
the  Evangelical  AlHance  was  formed.  It  was  according  to 
the  nature  of  things  that  James  Hamilton  should  gravitate 
towards  any  nucleus  that  might  be  in  the  process  of  for- 
mation with  a  view  to  the  increase  of  brotherly  love 
among  Protestant  Christians,  and  a  more  distinct  manifes- 
tation of  the  love  that  might  already  have  been  attained. 
It  so  happens  that  the  earliest  of  his  letters,  after  the  date 
of  his  removal  to  London,  that  has  fallen  into  our  hands 


UNION  OF  CHRISTIANS.  195 

refers  to  tliis  subject.  It  is  addressed  to  liis  beloved  aud 
venerated  friend  Mr.  William  Hamilton,  who  evidently- 
had  asked  his  opinion  on  some  points  bearing  on  the 
question  of  union  in  spirit  and  co-operation  in  effort  among 
the  disciples  of  the  Lord.  His  views  at  this  early  stage 
are  important,  in  relation  to  the  distinguished  services 
which  he  afterwards  rendered  to  the  cause  of  Christian 
union. 

Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  is  not  a  public  mani- 
festo, but  a  private  letter  to  a  friend  who  held  office  along 
with  himseK  in  a  Presbyterian  Church.  It  is  natural  in 
these  circumstances  that  he  should  express  fully  his  pre- 
ference for  Presbytery,  and  the  grounds  of  his  judgment. 
But  failing  what  he  considers  best,  he  is  ready  to  labour 
a  lifetime  for  what  may  be  attainable  in  the  direction  of 
union. 

"  My  views  are  these  : — 

"  I.  The  Lord  Jesus  lives.  He  is  of  the  same  mind  as 
when  He  prayed  '  that  they  all  may  be  one, — that  the 
world  may  know  that  Thou  hast  sent  me.'  It  is  the  duty, 
therefore,  of  His  disciples  to  seek  union,  the  duty  of  indi- 
vidual Christians  and  of  Evangelical  Churches  to  maintain 
a  friendly  correspondence.  If  such  correspondence  be 
begun  and  conducted  with  purity  of  motive  and  warmth  of 
affection,  it  cannot  but  lead  to  increasing  mutual  respect 
and  increasing  congeniality,  i.e.,  union. 

"  II.  The  most  scriptural  form  of  church  government  is 
likely  to  be  the  most  efiicient  in  extending  and  upholding 
the  kingdom  of  Christ.  I  am  deeply  persuaded  that  the 
Presbyterian  is  the  most  scriptural  form,  and  that  could 


196  PEESBYTERIANISM  IN  ENGLAND. 

we  get  it  more  largely  adopted  we  should  do  much  to 
advance  the  cause  of  Christ. 

"  III.  From  a  variety  of  causes  the  Presbyterian  is  the 
most  unpopular  denomination  in  England  ;  in  other  words, 
the  most  efficient  agency  for  spreading  the  gospel  is  the 
agency  of  which  English  Christians  are  most  jealous.  The 
only  form  of  government  capable  of  offering  effectual  and 
combined  resistance  to  popish  encroachments  is  that  form 
which  Protestant  Europe  has  adopted,  but  which  in  Eng- 
land is  monopolized  by  a  handful  of  Scotchmen. 

"  IV.  Did  Presbyterian  Christians  cultivate  the  friend- 
ship of  orthodox  denominations,  and  invite  them  to  study 
the  constitution  and  workings  of  Presbytery,  I  am  certain 
much  prejudice  would  be  removed  and  a  highway  opened 
for  the  advance  of  Presbyterianism. 

"V.  That  even  did  we  fail  in  prevailing  on  them  to  join 
our  Synod,  or  assume  to  themselves  a  prcsbyteric  name,  if 
they  were  supremely  bent  on  advancing  vital  godliness 
and  spiritual  Christianity  through  this  and  other  lands,  it 
were  our  duty  to  maintain  brotherly  intercourse  with  them, 
and  to  unite  openly  from  time  to  time  in  measures  for  the 
furtherance  of  our  common  Christianity,  e.g.,  in  a  manifesto 
showing  the  essential  unity  of  that  God-built  and  Spirit- 
inhabited  Church  of  which  each  regenerate  man  is  a  living 
stone,  in  opposition  to  the  mock  unity  of  the  worldly 
sanctuary  of  mere  churchism ;  in  a  course  of  lectures  on 
the  modern  heresy,  in  an  evangelistic  effort  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature  in  England  should  the  gross  dark- 
ness of  Puseyism  settle  down  on  its  parishes,  etc. 

"  Therefore,  and  as  a  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter,  I 


"  llEMEMBERING  ZION.  1  9  7 

would  seek  by  all  pacific  means  to  enlist  under  Presby- 
terian banners  as  many  as  I  could  for  the  sake  of  that 
grander  ultimatum,  the  enlisting  through  a  lively  and 
influential  Presbyterian  church  increasing  ijumbers  under 
the  ijanner  of  the  Cross. 

"  I  despair  of  the  Church  of  England.  It  never  took 
honest  leave  of  Babylon.  It  is  going  back  in  time  to 
share  Babylon's  overthrow.  If  deliverance  is  to  come  to 
the  Church  of  God  in  England,  it  must  be  from  some 
quarter  more  evangelical, — most  probably  from  a  union 
of  all  that  is  evangelical  in  England.  On  the  Presby- 
terian platform  I  see  room  enough  for  all  to  meet,  and 
find  it  an  impregnable  position. 

"  James  Hamilton." 

After  dealing  with  family  worship  his  next  care  was 
the  public  worship  of  the  Sabbath.  The  Church  in  the 
House  was  published  on  the  1st  of  January,  and  Rcvicm- 
hering  Zion  followed  on  10th  February  1842.  This  second 
tract  is  addressed  to  Scotchmen  in  London,  and  its  design 
is  to  commend  the  doctrine,  discipline,  and  worship  of 
their  fathers  and  their  fatherland.  Although  it  gives  a 
certain  sound  in  favour  of  his  own  cherished  Presbyterian 
system,  it  breathes  throughout  a  spirit  of  the  most  gener- 
ous and  catholic  sympathy  with  all  the  members  of  the 
Christian  brotherhood.  Observing  that  many  of  his 
countrymen  when  settled  in  the  great  metropolis,  like 
individual  trees  not  seen  in  the  wood,  glided  away  first 
from  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  next  from  the  Church 
altogether,  he  set  himself  to  counteract  the  danger  by  the 


198  SCOTCHMEN  IN  LONDON. 

methods  which  he  understood  and  could  employ.  With 
him  it  was  certainly  not  a  sectarian  movement.  He  knew 
not  of  any  way  by  which  he  could  do  more  good  to  Scotch- 
men in  London  than  by  inducing  them  to  attend  the 
Scottish  Church.  • 

The  introductory  sentences  of  the  tract,  written  in  his 
own  peculiar  vein,  with  its  characteristics  perhaps  even 
more  strongly  marked  than  in  later  years,  is  a  good  ex- 
ample of  the  apostolic  method  of  taking  by  guile  those 
whom  you  desire  to  win.  The  patriotism,  and  the  prin- 
ciples, and  the  habits,  and  even  the  prejudices  of  Scotch- 
men, are  touched  skilfully,  and  all  compelled  to  contribute 
tlieir  share  to  the  result, 

"  When  the  Israelites  were  in  a  city  vast  and  ungodly 
like  London, — a  city  without  a  Sabbath, — they  used,  when 
they  had  opportunity,  to  sit  down  and  talk  of  the  fair 
land  and  the  lovely  temple  from  which  they  had  been 
wrenched  away.  '  By  the  rivers  of  Babylon  there  we  sat 
down ;  yea,  we  wept  when  we  remembered  Zion.*  Dear 
fellow-countrymen,  most  of  you  are  so  far  like  the  Israelites 
that  you  remember  with  tenderness  the  land  of  your  birth, 
and  cannot  bear  that  others  should  speak  of  it  dis- 
paragingly. You  like  to  be  reminded  of  the  scenery  of 
Scotland,  the  summer  verdure  of  its  straths  and  glens,  and 
the  polished  fulness  of  its  deep  blue  lakes ;  its  wailing 
winter  torrents,  and  the  snow-laden  mountains  which  feed 
them.  And  you  love  its  ancient  minstrelsy — the  gather- 
ing songs  in  whose  high  pulse  the  hero-hearts  of  the  olden 
time  still  throb,  and  those  pathetic  dirges  which  were 
nature's  own   anthems   chanted   by  woodland   rills   and 


SABBATHS  IN  SCOTLAND.  199 

lonely  waterfalls  long  before  man  set  them  to  his  music. 
But  there  are  glorious  things  of  Scotland  which  you  have 
still  more  reason  to  remember.  You  have  not  forgotten 
the  schools  and  sanctuaries,  and  Sabbath  days,  wdiich  once 
were  Scotland's  own ;  and  perhaps  you  will  not  refuse  to 
listen  a  few  moments  whilst  we  would  call  them  to  re- 
membrance. Let  us  here,  in  this  busy  tumultuous  Baby- 
lon, sit  down  for  a  little  and  remember  our  Zion. 

"You  remember  the  Sabbath  days  of  Scotland.  You 
remember  how  the  Sabbath  was  wont  weekly  to  set  every 
house  in  order  throughout  the  land.  You  remember  the 
Saturday  evening's  preparation  for  the  Sabbath's  rest — the 
early  cessation  of  labour  in  the  fields  and  factories,  the 
timely  marketing,  the  lustration  of  each  apartment,  the 
arranging  of  household  furniture,  the  fetching  home  of 
water  from  the  well,  the  storing  of  fagots  for  fuel,  the  - 
busy  exertions  of  young  and  old  to  anticipate  and  super- 
sede all  Sabbath  toil,  which  resulted  in  imparting  before- 
hand a  look  of  Sabbatic  neatness  and  tranquillity  to  the 
well-ordered  habitation.  You  remember  too  the  friendly . 
visits  which  neighbour  families  were  wont  to  exchange 
that  evening,  loth  to  invade  the  sanctity  of  each  other's 
houses  on  the  Lord's  own  day,  but  glad  to  take  advantage 
of  this  breathing-time  to  cement  those  friendships  which 
they  meant  to  be  hereditary.  You  remember  the  Sabbath 
dawn,  with  its  morning  orisons  and  the  prompt  prepara- 
tions for  the  house  of  God.  You  remember  the  fresh  and 
wholesome  aspect  of  the  mustering  population  as  they 
wended  slowly  through  the  churchyard :  the  spectacled 
matron  with  her  bulky  Bible  wrapped  in  its  snowy  ker- 


200  SABBATHS  IN  SCOTLAND. 

chief,  and  provided  with  a  fragrant  sprig  of  some  favourite 
herb ;  the  cottar  in  tlie  homespun  suit  which  the  Sabbath 
storms  of  many  winters  had  washed,  but  had  not  tattered ; 
and  the  artisan  with  his  children,  whose  countenances 
forgot  their  week-day  toil  as  they  put  off  their  week-day 
garments.  If  it  were  a  parish  over  which  a  man  of  God 
presided,  you  remember  the  reverence  of  their  worship 
and  the  solemnity  of  their  bearing ;  whilst  one  who  under- 
stood the  case  of  each  spoke  home  to  the  hearts  of  all, 
and  their  common  confessions  and  thanksgivings  and  sup- 
plications, uttered  by  one  voice,  were  echoed  by  a  hundred 
hearts.  You  remember  the  heart-music  which  you  some- 
times heard  at  the  uprising  of  the  great  congregation, 
when  the  burly  voice  of  manhood  and  the  quivering  notes 
of  palsy- stricken  age,  'young  men  and  maidens,  old  men 
and  children,'  praising  God,  told  that  he  had  made  their 
hearts  right  glad.  You  remember  the  Sabbath  eve,  when 
the  children's  tasks  were  over,  and  the  sermons  had  been 
repeated,  and  with  the  Bible  or  the  Pilgrims  Progress,  or 
the  Fourfold  State,  each  hied  away  to  the  barn  or  the 
fir-plantation,  or  some  of  the  thousand  cottage  oratories 
which  God  knows  full  well  in  that  land  of  many  wor- 
shippers, till  the  downward  sun  reminded  them  that  it 
was  time  to  close  these  solitary  studies,  and  gather  round 
the  household  hearth  once  more." 

Having  thus  sought  to  insinuate  himself  into  the  favour 
of  his  countrymen,  he  proceeds  in  a  strain  of  the  gentlest 
brotherly  kindness,  but  at  the  same  time  of  the  clearest 
logic,  to  commend  to  their  understandings  and  their  hearts 
the  Standards,  the  Worship,  the  Government,  the  Ilistory, 


TROUBLES  IN  THE  SCOTTISH  CHUECH.  201 

and  the  spiritual  attainments  of  the  Scottish  Presbyterian 
Church. 

But  that  Church,  so  dear  to  him  in  his  partial  exile,  was 
by  this  time  advancing  deep  into  a  sea  of  troubles.  For- 
ward, in  obedience  to  her  fundamental  principles,  and  the 
command  of  her  Divine  Head — forward  she  must  of  neces- 
sity go  ;  although  every  minister  and  every  member  knew 
right  well  by  this  time  that  the  path  of  duty  was  the  path 
of  danger.  The  conflict  within  the  Church  on  the  one 
hand,  and  between  the  Church  and  the  civil  courts  on  the 
other,  was  approaching  its  crisis.  Tlie  principles  involved 
in  the  controversy,  and  the  gravity  of  its  result,  are  better 
appreciated  by  politicians  now,  twenty-six  years  after  the 
event,  than  they  were  at  the  time.  The  ministers  and  elders 
of  the  Scottish  Church  knew  the  stake  and  the  conditions 
thoroughly  from  the  first ;  but  those  who  in  that  day 
occupied  the  position  of  statesmen  were  profoundly 
ignorant  both  of  the  principles  contended  for,  and  the 
earnestness  of  the  contenders.  Adopting  cynically  the 
shallow  rule  that  churchmen,  although  they  make  a  great 
noise,  will  succumb  in  the  long-run  if  you  control  them 
by  their  pecuniary  interest,  they  peremptorily  declined  to 
listen  to  the  demand  made  by  the  Scottish  Church  for 
independence  in  its  own  spiritual  sphere  and  action.  The 
consequence  was  the  Disruption, — an  event  which  was 
destined,  as  it  now  appears,  to  become  one  of  the  great 
cardinal  points  of  our  national  history. 

Sympathizing  thoroughly  with  his  brethren  in  Scotland, 
James  Hamilton  saw,  in  1842,  the  shadows  of  the  coming 
event,  and  applied  himself  in  his  own  fashion  to  prepare 


202  THE  CONVOCATION. 

for  it.  When  his  heart  was  full  of  a  great  subject  it  dis- 
charged itself  by  a  tract.  In  this  direction  he  had  already 
discovered  that  he  possessed  a  means  of  access  to  the 
public  ear,  and  in  such  a  crisis  he  would  not  neglect  his 
opportunity. 

The  most  important  of  the  many  assemblies  held  in 
Scotland  by  the  reforming  party  within  the  Church,  for 
mutual  counsel  and  defence,  was  that  which  was  convened 
in  Edinburgh  in  November  1842,  and  has  ever  since  been 
known  as  "  the  Convocation."  Unlike  all  other  Presby- 
terian councils,  it  consisted  of  ministers  only.  Its  de- 
liberations were  conducted  with  closed  doors ;  and  by 
common  consent  no  layman,  not  even  an  elder,  was  once 
admitted.  The  reason  for  both  the  privacy  of  the  assembly 
and  its  exclusively  clerical  constituency  was  abundantly 
strong,  although  to  outsiders  not  at  first  sight  obvious. 
The  moment  that  the  reason  is  stated,  not  to  say  explained, 
every  fair  mind  instinctively  acquiesces  in  its  propriety. 
All  had  now  been  done  that  men  of  honour  could  conde- 
scend to  do,  with  the  view  of  retaining  the  spiritual 
freedom  of  the  Church  in  conjunction  with  its  position  as 
a  national  establishment ;  and  the  time  had  come  when 
it  behoved  the  party  who  were  faithful  to  the  scriptural 
principles  and  glorious  history  of  their  Church  to  make  a 
final  stand,  and  intimate  to  all  concerned  that  if  a  certain 
definite  measure  of  relief  should  not  be  granted  by  the 
Legislature  within  a  certain  definite  space  of  time,  they 
should  abandon  their  connexion  with  the  State,  in  order 
to  maintain  allegiance  to  their  heavenly  King.  Now,  as 
it  was  on  the  side  of  the  ministers  almost  exclusively  that 


THE  CONVOCATION  203 

the  contemplated  measure  involved  a  pecuniary  sacrifice, 
and  as  in  their  case  it  involved  the  sacrifice  of  all  that 
they  possessed,  it  was  felt  that  they  alone  should  discuss 
the  policy  of  the  plan,  and  frame  their  resolution  upon  it, 
apart  from  the  influence,  and  even  the  presence,  of  other 
parties  not  so  deeply  interested  in  the  result. 

The  place  chosen  for  the  sittings  of  the  Convocation 
was  Eoxburgh  Church, — the  same  building  in  which  James 
Hamilton  had  exercised  a  brief  ministry  immediately 
before  his  removal  to  London.  He  attended  all  the  de- 
liberations, and  cordially  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  brethren. 
Immediately  after  his  return  appeared  another  tract,  entitled 
"  The  Harp  on  the  Willows,"  in  which  he  describes  the 
assembly,  and  explains  to  the  English  people  its  resolu- 
tions, and  their  grounds.  The  brochure  was  eminently 
useful  in  conveying  correct  information  to  Englishmen  on 
a  subject  with  which  they  were  not  familiar. 

A  letter,  written  at  Edinburgh  during  the  sittings  of 
the  Convocation,  possesses  much  historical  value,  as  indi- 
cating the  general  tone  of  its  members  at  the  critical 
moment  in  the  history  of  the  Church  : — 

TO  ME.  WILLIAM  HAMILTON. 

"  15  BuccLEUCH  Place,  Edin., 
Nov.  19,  1842. 

"My  deae  Me.  Hamilton, — The  Convocation  has 
adjourned  for  this  week,  and  if  its  future  proceedings  be 
conducted  in  the  same  spirit  of  conciliation  and  harmony 
as  hitherto,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  effect  on  the  country 
will  be  great.     The  effect  on  the  ministers  themselves  is 


204  THE  CONVOCATION. 

evidently  good.  They  met,  almost  as  many  minds  as  there 
were  men.  But  the  proceedings  were  opened  by  a  most 
appropriate  and  impressive  sermon  by  Dr.  Chalmers  on 
the  spirit  in  which  these  deliberations  should  be  conducted. 
There  was  much  prayer  intermingled  with  all  their  pro- 
ceedings ;  and  though  yesterday  there  were  three  different 
proposals,  this  morning  they  very  unexpectedly  and  wonder- 
fully were  fused  together,  and  all  agreed  that  in  going  to 
Government  they  should  demand  as  a  minimum  a  satis- 
factory  non-intrusion  measure  (the  liherum  arlitrium  being 
held  unsatisfactory),  and  the  uncontrolled  spiritual  juris- 
diction of  the  Church  courts.  On  Monday,  it  will  be 
considered  what  ought  to  be  done  in  the  event  of  no 
answer,  or  a  negative  being  returned  to  this  application. 
The  prevailing  feeling  is,  that  rather  than  be  decimated 
one  by  one,  they  should  stand  together  and  hold  them- 
selves ready  to  secede  in  a  body,  and  make  this  intention 
known.  Some  will  be  for  remaining  till  they  be  driven 
out,  but  these  I  think  are  very  few,  and  perhaps  on  this 
also  there  will  be  a  unanimous  resolution, 

"Nearly  500  are  j)resent.  The  feeling  is  that  of  much 
mutual  confidence  (with  some  few  exceptions),  and  a 
solemn  realization  of  their  position  as  in  the  crisis  of  the 
Church's  history.  In  the  remarkable  harmony  of  this  day 
it  was  generally  felt  that  the  Spirit  of  Love,  and  of  a  sound 
mind,  was  the  Author  of  it,  and  every  one  saw  that  it  was 
an  answer  to  prayer. 

"  I  have  seen  almost  all  your  friends,  Mr.  S.  Martin,  Mr. 
Anderson,  etc.  But  tlie  Convocation  consumes  the  day, 
and,  except  for  a  few  moments  in  the  lobby,  or  with  a 


"the  harp  on  the  willows."  205 

neighbour  beside  you,  there  is  little  opportunity  for  news 
or  talk.  I  am  very  glad  I  came,  and  very  glad  that 
Eegent  Square  sent  its  token  of  good-will.  It  verifies 
Eom.  i.  8. 

"  To-morrow  morning  I  preach  in  Eoxburgh  Church, 
and  nowhere  else.  I  would  have  written  more  minutely, 
but  from  the  private  nature  of  the  meetings  I  am  not  sure 
yet  whether  it  is  right  to  enter  more  into  particulars. 

"  Eemember  me  most  kindly  to  Mrs.  Hamilton,  and  to 
those  brethren  of  the  Session  who  may  be  at  the  Monday 
prayer-meeting.  The  Convocation  will,  at  the  time  of 
that  meeting,  be  deciding  the  point  which  involves  the 
temporal  interests  of  the  ministers,  and  I  am  sure  you 
will  not  forget  to  seek  for  them  a  self- renouncing  sphit.— 
I  remain,  yours  most  affectionately, 

"  James  Hamilton." 

The  introduction  of  the  tract  is  characteristic  : — 
"  Two  months  ago  I  went  to  Edinburgh  to  attend  the 
Convocation  of  Ministers.  Like  many  of  my  countrymen 
my  heart  used  to  beat  harder  when  I  came  in  sight  of  that 
city  of  Eeformers  and  Covenanters,  of  hallowed  Sabbaths, 
and  crowded  churches,  and  solemn  assemblies.  Its  towers 
and  steeples  used  to  say.  Mount  Zion  stands  most  beauti- 
fuL  But  on  this  occasion  '  how  did  the  city  sit  solitary ! ' 
Its  pleasant  sanctuaries  had  a  look  of  widowhood;  and 
the  most  melancholy  object  of  all  was  a  gorgeous  un- 
finished structure  on  the  Castle  Hill,  reared  for  the 
Assemblies  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  but  more  likely  to 
be  their  cenotaph.     Ministers  preached,  and  congregations 


206  APPEAL  TO  ENGLISHMEN. 

worshipped,  as  under  warning  to  quit,  and  there  was 
much  of  a  farewell  solemnity  in  every  service.  In  private 
it  was  the  same ;  and,  amidst  many  joyful  meetings  and 
much  longed-for  intercourse,  there  was  a  prevailing  ten- 
dency to  sadness.  There  was  a  mournful  and  foreboding 
feeling,  like  that  which  reigned  in  Jerusalem  after  the 
voice  had  cried  in  the  Temple,  '  Arise  !  depart ! '  and  just 
before  the  abomination  of  desolation  took  his  stand  in  the 
holy  place.  There  was  a  conviction  deeper  than  ever  that 
the  cause  of  the  Church  was  the  cause  of  God,  and  there- 
fore not  soon  likely  to  become  the  cause  of  man.  How- 
ever, a  few  '  hoped  against  hope ; '  and  the  last  evening  I 
spent  in  Edinburgh,  and  being  rather  a  cheering  word  I 
remember  it  better,  in  the  course  of  a  conversation  about 
the  Church's  prospects,  an  accomplished  barrister  said  in 
my  liearing,  '  I  have  great  hope  from  the  honesty  of 
Englishmen.  The  English  are  a  just  people,  and,  if  they 
understood  our  case,  would  do  us  justice.' 

"Now,  dear  friends,  to  be  as  honest  as  yourselves,  I 
have  great  fear  that  you  do  not  understand  the  case,  and 
some  fear  that  you  will  not  study  it.  If  the  Waldenses 
were  about  to  be  ejected  from  those  valleys,  which  they  hold 
by  solemn  treaty,  I  could  count  on  your  interference.  Or 
if  the  civil  courts  of  Constantinople  were  tampering  with 
the  internal  arrangements  of  our  ambassador's  chapel,  I 
believe  you  would  think  it  right  that  our  Government 
should  remonstrate.  Now  that  the  Queen  of  Madagascar 
is  concussing  Christian  consciences,  I  know  that  many  of 
you  are  indignant,  and  would  interpose  your  protection  if 
you  could.     If  you  wiU  hear  me  patiently,  I  promise  to 


THE  REVOLUTION  SETTLEMENT.  207 

show  tliat  the  cases  are  too  parallel ;  and  as  I  shall  endea- 
vour to  relieve  the  subject  of  all  intricate  details  and 
metaphysical  niceties,  so  I  earnestly  trust  that,  if  I  make 
out  a  case  of  grievance  or  suffering  for  conscience'  sake, 
you  who  have  ere  now  listened  to  a  voice  from  Piedmont, 
will  not  shut  your  ears  against  a  voice  from  the  Church  of 
Scotland. 

"  At  the  Revolution — which  you  and  we  agree  in  calling 
glorious — the  Government  restored  to  Scotland  the  reli- 
gion which  the  Reformers  gave  it.  Presbyterianism  was 
established :  that  is  to  say,  a  Presbyterian  minister  was 
planted  in  every  parish.  A  house  was  assigned  to  this 
minister  to  live  in ;  four  or  five  acres  of  land  were  annexed 
to  this  house,  on  which  some  oats  and  barley  might  gi'ow, 
and  a  cow  might  pasture ;  and  then  to  purchase  books, 
and  furniture,  and  fuel,  and  other  creature- comforts  not 
indigenous  to  the  glebe,  a  small  salary  from  a  portion  of 
the  ancient  tithes  was  superadded.  In  consideration  of 
the  manse,  glebe,  and  stipend,  the  people  of  that  parish 
were  entitled  to  the  services  of  the  minister,  could  claim 
their  seat  in  the  parish  church,  and  enjoy,  rich  and  j)oor 
alike,  the  ordinances  of  religion.  In  those  haj^py  days 
each  parish  chose  its  own  elders,  and  they,  along  with 
such  of  the  landed  proprietors  as  were  members  of  the 
church,  chose  the  minister.  And  as  they  usually  chose 
the  best,  Scotland  '  flourished  by  the  preaching  of  the 
word.'" 

He  then  proceeds  to  explain,  in  simple  and  graphic 
style,  how  this  fair  garden  was  turned  into  a  desert  Ijy  the 
tyrannical  re-enactment  of  patronage  in  the  beginning  of 


208     THE  LIBERTY  DEMANDED  BY  THE  CHURCH, 

the  last  century,  and  by  the  subversion  of  spiritual  liberty 
in  the  Church  through  the  agency  of  the  civil  courts  in 
the  earlier  haK  of  the  present.  It  is  true  that  in  our  day 
men  in  high  places  of  the  State  distinctly  announce  their 
theory  of  an  Established  Church  to  be  subjection  of  the 
Church  to  the  Courts  of  the  State  in  all  their  affairs,  as 
the  price  of  Establishment  and  Endowment  by  the  re- 
sources of  the  nation  ;  it  is  true  also  that  various  parties 
in  the  Church  of  England,  including  that  which  is 
reckoned  distinctively  evangelical,  accept  and  even  boast 
of  that  humiliating  condition.  Not  so  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Scotland  in  its  best  days  ;  not  so  the  churches 
of  Scotland  that  are  free.  It  was  a  fundamental  principle 
of  the  historical  Church  of  Scotland,  from  the  Eeforma- 
tion  downwards,  that  no  civil  court  had  a  right  to  review 
or  reverse  a  sentence  pronounced  by  a  Church  court  in 
spiritual  matters.  That  principle  was  frequently  misre- 
presented by  ignorant  or  prejudiced  persons,  as  if  the 
Church  were  setting  up  a  Popish  claim  to  exemption  in 
favour  of  ecclesiastics  from  subjection  to  civil  law.  This 
was  a  grievous  mistake ;  but  it  was  difficult  to  get  the 
mistake  corrected  where  people  were  not  willing  to  learn. 
Throughout  the  conflict  the  Church  uniformly  conceded 
the  right  of  the  civil  courts  to  control  all  temporal 
interests  according  to  law,  and  by  their  own  methods. 
They  were  perfectly  willing  that  the  judges,  if  they  found 
that  a  Presbytery  had  ordained  the  ^vrong  minister,  should 
adjudge  the  manse  and  church  and  stipend  to  another ; 
but  they  did  not  concede  that  the  judges  were  competent 
either  to  ordain  a  certain  minister  themselves,  or  to  com- 


AND  REFUSED  BY  THE  STATE.  209 

pel  the  Presbytery  to  do  it.  The  claim  of  the  Church 
was,  leave  us  free  to  pronounce  sentence  in  matters  purely 
spiritual,  according  to  our  own  scriptural  rules,  without 
being  liable  to  authoritative  review  in  the,  civil  court ; 
and  if  the  civil  court  find  that  we  have  transgressed  any 
law,  let  the  penalty  be  the  loss  of  the  temporalities.  Let  the 
courts  of  the  State,  if  they  see  fit,  take  all  that  the  State 
ever  gave  ;  but  let  them  not  presume  either  to  reverse  our 
sentences  themselves,  or  compel  us  by  penalties  to  reverse 
them. 

This  liberty  was  formally  denied  to  the  Church  by  the 
Legislature ;  this  liberty  no  Established  Church  enjoys. 
The  theory  accepted  by  the  heads  of  both  political  parties 
is,  that  if  the  State  endows  the  Church,  the  State  also 
rules  it.  The  spiritual  sentences  of  ecclesiastical  tribunals 
are  liable  to  be  reviewed,  and  if  need  be  reversed,  by  the 
civil  courts,  precisely  as  the  sentences  of  inferior  civil 
courts  are  subject  to  review  by  the  superior. 

Two  sets  of  resolutions  were  after  full  deliberation 
unanimously  adopted  by  the  Convocation.  The  first  series 
defined  exactly,  not  the  measure  of  freedom  which  the 
Church  deemed  the  best,  but  the  minimum — the  smallest 
measure  consistent  with  truth  and  honour.  The  second 
pledged  all  the  members  to  abandon  the  Establishment  at 
the  date  of  the  next  General  Assembly  in  May,  if  the 
previously  defined  relief  should  not  by  that  time  have 
been  granted  by  the  Legislature.  These  resolutions  were 
duly  made  known  to  the  Government  and  the  Houses  of 
Parliament,  and  then  the  ministers  awaited  the  result. 
The  result  is  well  known.     Statesmen  refused  to  believe 

0 


210       SKETCH  OF  THE  CONVOCATION 

that  the  ministers  would  renounce  their  benefices  until 
tliey  were  convinced  by  the  fact,  and  then  it  was  too  late 
to  amend  the  blunder. 

Dr.  Hamilton's  sketch  of  the  character  and  constituents 
of  the  Assembly  is  a  valuable  record,  now  that  most  of  the 
leading  actors  have  been  removed  from  the  stage. 

"  Nearly  500  came  together ;  and  it  was  very  plain  that 
no  ordinary  call  could  have  brought  from  the  remotest 
headlands  of  our  rugged  land  such  a  company  in  the  dead 
season  of  the  year. 

"  After  a  prayer-meeting  in  St.  George's  Church,  and  a 
sermon  by  Dr.  Chalmers, — '  Unto  the  upright  there  ariseth 
light  in  the  darkness,' — the  ministers  adjourned  to  Eox- 
burgh  Church.  Dr.  Chalmers  took  the  chair.  It  was 
agreed  that  during  each  sederunt  three  of  the  brethren 
should  engage  in  prayer,  and  in  this  way  confession  and 
cupplication  assumed  a  prominent  place  in  the  business  of 
each  meeting.  None  but  ministers  were  present.  In 
order  to  encourage  each  member  freely  to  speak  his  mind 
this  privacy  was  requisite,  and  it  tended  greatly  to  impart 
a  confiding  and  conversational  tone  to  their  proceedings. 
For  our  own  part  it  made  us  feel  that  the  innermost  side 
of  good  men  is  the  best  side ;  and  whilst  listening  to  the 
brotherly  tone  of  their  communings,  so  unlike  the  defiance 
and  disdain  of  Christian  heroism  and  self-renunciation 
which  were  ever  and  anon  expressed,  we  wished  that  the 
world  were  present ;  and  during  the  devotional  exercises 
and  at  intervals  throughout  the  deliberations,  when  sudden 
light  or  consolation  broke  in,  in  a  way  which  brought 
tears  to  many  eyes,  we  would  have  liked  that  all  the 


AND  ITS  CONSTITUENT  MEMBERS.  2  1 1 

Christians  in  the  kingdom  could  be  present,  for  we  felt 
assured  that  the  Lord  Himself  was  there.  And  then,  when 
we  looked  at  the  materials  of  the  meeting,  and  saw  before 
us,  with  few  exceptions,  all  the  talent,  and,  with  still 
fewer  exceptions,  all  the  piety  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
we  wished  that  those  were  present  in  whose  power  it  lies 
to  preserve  to  the  Scottish  Establishment  all  this  learning 
and  this  worth.  There  was  the  chairman,  who  might  so 
easily  have  been  the  Adam  Smith,  the  Leibnitz,  or  the 
Bossuet  of  the  day,  but  who,  having  obtained  a  better 
part,  has  laid  economics  and  philosophy  and  eloquence  on 
the  altar  which  sanctified  himself.  There  was  Dr.  Gordon, 
lofty  in  simplicity,  whose  vast  conceptions  and  majestic 
emotions  plough  deeper  the  old  channels  of  customary 
words,  and  make  common  phrases  appear  solemn  and 
sublime  after  he  has  used  them.  There  were  Dr.  Keith, 
whose  labours  in  the  prophecies  have  sent  his  fame  through 
Europe,  and  are  yearly  bringing  converts  into  the  Church 
of  Christ;  and  Mr.  James  Buchanan,  whose  deep-drawn 
sympathy  and  rich  Bible-lore,  and  Christian  refinement, 
have  made  him  a  son  of  consolation  to  so  many  of  the 
sons  of  sorrow.  There  were  Dr.  Welsh,  the  biographer 
and  bosom  friend  of  Thomas  Brown ;  Dr.  Forbes,  among 
the  most  inventive  of  modern  mathematicians ;  and  Dr. 
Paterson,  whose  Manse  Garden  is  read  for  the  sake  of  its 
poetry  and  wisdom  and  Christian  kindness  where  there 
are  no  gardens,  and  will  be  read  for  the  sake  of  other  days 
when  there  are  no  manses.  And  there  was  Dr.  Patrick 
]\I'Earlan,  whose  calm  judgment  is  a  sanction  to  any 
measure,  and  who,  holding  the  richest  benefice  in  Scotland, 


212  THE  DEATH  OF  M  CHEYNE. 

most  appropriately  moved  the  resolution,  that  rather  than 
sacrifice  their  principles  they  should  surrender  their  pos- 
sessions ;  and  not  to  mention  '  names  the  poet  must  not 
speak,'  there  were  in  that  Assembly  the  men  who  are 
dearest  of  all  to  the  godly  throughout  the  land,  the  men 
whom  the  Lord  delighted  to  honour, — all  the  ministers  in 
whose  parishes  have  been  great  revivals,  from  the  apostle 
of  the  North,  good  old  Mr.  Macdonald,  whose  happy 
countenance  is  a  signal  for  expectation  and  gladness  in 
every  congregation  he  visits ;  and  Mr.  Burns  of  Kilsyth, 
whose  affectionate  counsels  and  prayers  made  the  Convo- 
cation feel  towards  him  as  a  father, — down  to  those 
younger  ministers  of  whom,  but  for  our  mutual  friend- 
ship, I  could  speak  more  freely.  When  we  looked  at  the 
whole,  knowing  something  of  all,  we  felt,  first,  such  an 
Assembly  never  met  in  Scotland  before ;  secondly,  it  will 
depend  on  them,  under  God,  whether  Scotland  can  ever 
furnish  such  an  Assembly  again ;  and,  thirdly,  what  a 
blot  on  any  reign,  and  what  a  guilt  on  any  Government, 
which  casts  forth  such  a  company  !  And  then,  after  some 
sadder  musings,  came  in  this  thought,  Yet  what  a  blessing 
to  the  world  if  tliey  were  scattered  abroad,  everywhere 
preaching  the  word !" 

In  March  1843  he  was  first  greatly  grieved,  and  sub- 
sequently much  quickened  in  spirit,  by  the  stroke  that 
was  tenderly  felt  by  the  whole  Christian  brotherhood  that 
use  in  common  the  English  tongue — the  sudden  removal 
of  his  friend  and  fellow-laboui-er,  Eobert  M.  M'Cheyne  of 
Dundee.  News  had  reached  him  in  the  end  of  the  week 
of  his  beloved  brother's  dangerous  illness.     As  no  letters 


THE  DEATH  OF  M'CHEYNE.  213 

are  delivered  in  London  on  Sabbath,  lie  was  on  the  watch 
with  peculiar  earnestness  on  Monday  morning  for  the 
postman's  call.  His  mother,  liimseK,  and  his  friend  and 
neighbour,  Mr.  James  Watson,  were  sitting  together  at 
breakfast  in  his  house,  when  the  double  knock,  much 
longed  for  and  yet  secretly  dreaded,  rang  through  the 
room.  He  bounded  to  his  feet,  and  made  towards  the 
lobby  with  a  spring,  saying,  "We  shall  hear  how  dear 
Robert  is  !"  Eetu.rning  with  some  letters  in  his  hand, 
and  opening  one  of  them  by  the  way,  he  obtained  a  glance 
of  the  first  Hne  as  he  entered  the  dining-room,  and  learned 
the  final  fact.  His  hand  fell  down  by  his  side  as  if  it 
had  been  stricken  with  paralysis.  Uttering  a  gentle 
exclamation,  "Eobert  is  gone!"  he  stood  still  and  pale 
like  a  statue  for  about  a  minute,  and  then  said,  "  Let  us 
pray."  All  knelt  in  silence  ;  then,  himself  and  Mr.  Wat- 
son alternately  giving  their  desires  expression,  they  poured 
out  to  God  hearts  that  were  too '  full  for  converse  with 
each  other.  It  was  a  great  love,  for  it  was  a  love  in  the 
Spirit.  The  fountains  of  a  great  deep  were  broken  up  in 
the  survivor  when  his  brother  in  the  Lord  was  removed 
from  his  siQ;ht. 


TO  KEV.  ANDREW  BONAR,  COLLAGE. 

"  7  Lansdowne  Place,  April  1,  1843. 

"My  dear,  dear  Brother, — This  has  been  a  solemn 

and  affecting  week,  and  this  the  most  affecting  day  of  all. 

Wlien  the  post  brought  two  letters  this  afternoon  from 

Dundee,  giving  an  account  of  the  funeral,  and  I  felt  that 


214  LESSONS  FROM  THE  LIFE 

the  grave  had  really  closed  ujDon  him,  I  cannot  tell  the 
feelings  of  desolation  that  came  over  my  mind.  I  had 
hoped  by  the  end  of  this  month  to  see  him  once  more, 
and  it  looks  so  very  short  since  last  November  when  he 
was  here.  But  I  have  yielded  too  much  to  these  feelings, 
and  unless  God  strengthen  my  w^eak  body  and  mind,  I 
will  be  very  unfit  for  to-morrow.  Nor  could  I  write  now 
unless  it  were  to  you,  or  some  one  who  has  felt  like  you. 

"  It  has  been  a  mournful  relief  to  find  how  many  here 
are  moved  by  the  tidings.  It  shows  not  only  that  his 
last  visit  has  made  a  deep  impression — which  I  knew — 
but  it  leads  me  to  hope  that  the  striking  dispensation  may 
be  blessed  to  this  people. 

"  But  I  have  been  trying  to  bring  my  cold,  stubborn, 
unbelieving  heart  to  ponder  God's  message  to  myself. 
When  I  compare  myself  with  him  I  see  what  sinful 
trifling  much  of  my  ministry  has  been  ;  and  when  I  think 
how  beautiful  was  his  holiness,  and  how  impressive  the 
consistency  of  his  character,  and  think  of  my  incurable 
levity  and  readiness  to  fall  in  with  other  people's  ways,  I 
would  despair  were  it  not  for  the  exhaustless  resources  of 
the  cleansing  blood  and  sanctifying  Spirit.  Oh,  to  follow 
the  Lord  fully  like  him, — to  be  the  Christ-like  man  he 
was  !  You,  my  kind,  dear  friend,  know  my  infirmities — 
some  of  them  at  least ;  and  for  the  sake  of  my  not  dis- 
honouring Christ,  for  the  sake  of  my  usefulness,  tell  me 
freely  of  them.  The  Lord  is  speaking  in  this  providence, 
and  is  calling  to  ministers  to  arise  and  begin  anew.  I 
wish  to  hear  His  voice,  and  have  been  praying  these  days 
past  for  a  double  portion  of  Elijah's  spirit.     Oh  that  the 


AND  THE  DEATH  OF  M'CHEYNE.  215 

Lord  would  grant  tliat  double  portion  to  many  Elishas  in 
Scotland  also ! 

"  He  was  with  you  this  time  last  year.  I  have  a  letter 
dated  from  'Collace,  March  25th,  1842.'  I  mean  to  read 
it  to  the  people  to-morrow.  But  I  have  only  two  letters 
besides  preserved.  I  shall  send  them  to  you,  though  not 
so  remarkable  as  many  you  will  have,  for  I  rejoice  to  hear 
that  you  mean  to  write  down  with  pen  and  ink  some  of 
the  more  memorable  things  which  God  had  written  on 
this  living  epistle.  Seldom  has  there  been  one  so  distinct 
and  full. 

"  There  are  many  good  people  in  Regent  Square,  and 
things  outwardly  are  rather  prosperous ;  but  we  have 
much  need  to  pray  that  the  Lord  would  stir  up  His 
strength  and  might,  and  come  and  save  us,  for  the  careless 
people  are  much  as  they  were.  The  church  is  very  large, 
and  the  people  look  far  away, — not  within  arm's-length, 
as  in  Abernyte  or  CoUace.  But  I  do  hope  that,  in  rich 
and  sovereign  grace,  God  may  send  us,  notwithstanding 
our  carnality  and  worldliness,  a  season  of  refreshing. 

"  Pray  much  for  it,  and  for  one  who  would  feel  it  a 
privilege  to  be  your  brother  in  the  kingdom  and  patience 
of  Jesus  Christ,  and  is  your  affectionate  friend, 

"  James  Hamilton." 

"  7  Lansdowne  Place,  April  6,  1843. 
"  Last  week  was  a  heavy  one — som.e  solemn  and  quick- 
ening thoughts  mingling  with  many  sad  ones.     Eobert 
M'Cheyne  was  not  a  year  older  than  myseK,  but  what  a 
work  he  had  finished  before  he  was  called  away  !     Though 


216  SELF-II\^  SPECTION. 

with  an  incompRrably  colder  heart,  I  believe  I  love  the 
same  Saviour  to  whom  he  had  dedicated  himself,  and  it  is 
my  desire  to  extend  His  glory  in  the  world.  How  shall  I 
do  it  ?  I  am  so  frivolous,  so  unequal,  so  carnal,  that  I 
often  feel  it  would  be  better  for  the  cause  of  Christ  that 
I  was  not  identified  with  it.  But  here  I  am  planted  in  a 
most  important  position — minister  of  one  of  the  few  Scotch 
churches  here — with  a  people  so  immersed  in  business 
that  ordinary  impressions  fast  fade  from  their  minds, — so 
intelligent  and  observing  that  any  inconsistency  in  their 
minister  is  sure  to  be  noticed,  and  many  of  them  so  fasti- 
dious, or  so  slightly  bound  to  myself,  that  a  very  little 
thing  would  drive  them  away.  Here  have  I  been  for 
nineteen  months  and  more,  and  except  a  large  increase  to 
the  congregation,  and  some  marks  of  outward  prosperity, 
little  has  been  done.  The  Spirit  has  been  restrained.  Few 
deep  impressions  have  been  made,  and  I  scarcely  know  of 
any  sound  conversions.  Lord,  let  me  not  despond.  Make 
me  consistent.  Make  me  a  living  epistle.  Give  me 
wisdom  from  above.     Make  me  spirituaUy-minded." 

Thus  the  early  departure  of  M'Cheyne  affected  those  of 
kindred  spirit  who  had  been  intimately  associated  with 
him  in  his  brief,  and,  on  its  upper  side,  brilliant  ministry. 
It  humbled,  reproved,  quickened,  and  stimulated  them. 
But  the  effects  of  that  divine  dispensation  were  not 
limited  to  the  comparatively  narrow  circle  of  jM'Cheyne's 
personal  friends.  Through  the  memorials  and  remains  of 
the  young  minister,  prepared  by  the  tender  hand  and  con- 
genial spirit  of  Andrew  Bonar,  his  death  exerted  perhaps 


A  QUICKENED  MINISTRY.  217 

a  greater  power  in  advancing  Christ's  kingdom  tlian  his 
life  could  have  put  forth. 

The  next  letter  written  by  ]Mr.  Hamilton — the  next  as 
far  as  they  have  come  under  our  observation — affords 
simple  and  interesting  evidence  of  the  sharpening  which 
his  spirit  had  obtained  in  the  furnace  of  his  great  sorrow  : 

"  London,  April  14,  1843. 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Vetch, — It  gave  me  great  pleasure  to 
hear  from  you ;  and  it  would  give  me  much  if  this  at  all 
answered  the  end  for  which  you  so  kindly  asked  me  to 
write.  It  makes  me  happy  when  I  find  a  friend  who 
really  desires  to  hear  or  speak  about  Christ.  In  heaven 
He  mingles  with  every  thought,  is  the  spring  of  every 
service,  and  the  burden  of  every  song.  But  few  in  heaven 
have  such  reason  to  love  Him  as  sinners  here  on  earth.  It 
is  in  ow  world  that  Bethlehem,  and  Nazareth,  and  Calvary 
are  to  be  found ;  and  if  we  ever  go  to  heaven  it  is  the 
blood  shed  at  Jerusalem  which  must  take  us  there.  But 
it  is  the  depravity  of  our  hearts  that  we  cannot  love  this 
Saviour,  that  we  cannot  even  bend  our  minds  to  think  of 
Him,  and  meditate  upon  Him,  until  the  fire  burn  !  You 
complain  that  your  heart  is  cold  towards  the  Friend  of 
sinners.  There  is  One  who  can  make  it  glow.  It  is  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  reveal  Jesus ;  and  He  can 
show  Christ  in  such  a  light  that  the  heart  cannot  help 
being  warmed  and  melted.  The  Holy  Spirit  does  this 
through  His  own  chosen  instrumentality,  of  which  the 
chief  is  the  Word  read  and  heard.  The  last  I  believe  to 
be  chiefly  blessed.  I  do  not  well  know  how  you  are  situated 
with  regard  to  ministers  in  your  part  of  the  country ;  but 


218  THE  DISRUPTION  IN  SCOTLAND. 

the  earnest  advice  of  your  old  friend  would  be  to  searcli 
out  the  liveliest  and  most  faithful  preacher  of  Christ  in  all 
the  country-side,  and  frequent  his  ministry,  however  far 
away.  I  know  that  you  and  the  Major  are  members  of 
the  Episcopal  Church,  but  that  will  not  hinder  you  from 
getting  good  by  a  gospel  ministry  wherever  you  find  it. 
And  it  is  of  such  surpassing  moment  to  hear  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus  affectionately  declared,  that  it  were  worth  a 
long  pilgrimage  to  go  and  hear  it.  It  is  little  that  I 
know  of  Clirist,  but  that  little  is  my  truest  joy.  It  is 
more  than  I  once  did,  and  though  I  have  more  labours  and 
anxieties  now  than  I  once  had,  I  believe  that  I  am  happier 
than  I  once  was.  I  am  sorry  that  tliis  note  must  be  so 
short,  but  1  shall  be  glad  to  write  again.  I  thank  you  for 
the  tender  and  beautiful  verses,  and  thank  Major  Vetch 
for  introducing  me  to  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Money.  I  have 
not  yet  been  able  to  go  with  the  letter,  but  I  hope  to  do 
so  soon. 

"  May  your  peace  be  like  a  river. — Yours  most  truly, 

"James  Hamilton." 

In  INIay  of  this  year  the  memorable  Disruption  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland  took  place.  The  resolutions  of  the 
Convocation,  signed  by  400  ministers,  had  been  laid  before 
the  Parliament  and  the  Government ;  but  the  statesmen 
of  the  day  offered  no  redress  for  wrongs  inflicted,  no 
relaxation  of  bonds  imposed  upon  the  Church.  The 
majority,  liberal,  advancing,  and  devoted,  held  to  the  last 
by  the  hope  that  the  relief  which  scriptural  truth  de- 
manded, and  imperial  policy  manifestly  suggested,  would 


"  FAREWELL  TO  EGYPT."  219 

be  granted.  They  were  loath  to  believe  that  the  historic 
Church  of  Scotland  would  be  held  bound  to  take  their 
orders,  in  spiritual  matters  as  well  as  temporal,  from  the 
Court  of  Session.  The  law  officers  of  the  Crown  advised 
that  the  liberty  which  they  demanded  was  their  own  by 
the  constitution  of  the  realm  ;  and  five  of  the  thirteen 
Judges  in  the  Scottish  Supreme  Court  pronounced  their 
opinions  to  the  same  effect.  But  the  opposite  view  pre- 
vailed. It  was  finally  determined  that  the  position  and 
emoluments  of  the  Establishment  should  belong  ex- 
clusively to  those  who,  in  such  matters  as  the  ordination 
or  deposition  of  a  minister,  should  simply  obey  the  de- 
cision of  the  Civil  Court. 

The  crisis  had  come.  The  liberty  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  must  be  crushed,  as  that  of  the  Episcopal  has  long 
been,  under  a  merely  Erastian  supremacy,  or  the  Church 
must  go  out  from  the  Establishment,  carrying  her  freedom 
along  with  her,  and  leaving  her  emoluments  behind. 
Towards  Edinburgh,  on  the  days  immediately  preceding 
the  18th  of  May,  the  more  energetic  spirits  gravitated  from 
every  corner  of  the  land,  prepared  to  act  wortliily  one 
great  turning-point  of  our  national  history.  James  Ham- 
ilton was  there,  soul  and  body,  prepared  to  take  his  part. 
In  a  tract  published  immediately  afterwards,  under  the 
title  Fareioell  to  Egy2:)t,  the  scene,  while  yet  fresh  in  his 
memory,  was  pictured  by  his  own  pen. 

"  Edinburgh  is  one  of  those  cities  which  seem  designed 
as  the  arena  of  mighty  incidents.  Commanding  that  wide 
prospect  of  fertile  fields,  and  of  the  far- stretching  ocean, 
which  is  itself  enlarging  to  the  soul;   overhung  by  tall 


220    THE  SCENE  AND  THE  CIRCUMSTANCES 

piles  of  ancient  masonry,  and  hoary  battlements  whicli 
only  speak  of  other  years ;  looking  up  to  everlasting 
mountains  wliich  carry  the  thoughts  aloft,  or  far  into  the 
future ;  and  with  the  solemn  shadows  of  the  ancient  capi- 
tal diffusing  a  sedateness  over  the  elegance  of  the  modern 
town :  Edinburgh  is  essentially  an  historic  city — a  city  , 
familiar  with  great  events,  and  a  proper  place  for  their 
transaction.  On  the  morning  of  the  1 8th  May  it  had  the 
look  as  if  such  an  event  were  coming.  People  were  early 
astir.  When  the  hours  of  business  came  men  either  for- 
bore their  usual  occupations  or  plied  them  in  a  way  which 
showed  they  had  as  lief  forbear.  Holyrood  was  one  point 
of  attraction,  for  the  yearly  gleam  of  royalty  was  flickering 
about  its  grim  turrets  and  through  its  gaunt  open  gate- 
way. The  scarlet  yeomen  with  their  glancing  halberts, 
and  the  horsemen  curvetting  in  the  court  of  the  resound- 
ing '  Sanctuary,'  announced  that  the  representative  of 
majesty  was  within ;  and  a  stream  of  very  various  equi- 
pages was  conveying  down  the  Canongate  professors  from 
the  College  and  red-gowned  magistrates  from  the  Council 
Chamber,  lawyers  from  the  Parliament  House,  and  lairds 
from  all  the  Lothians,  besides  a  long  pedestrian  procession 
of  doctors  and  ministers  and  burgh  elders,  all  resorting  to 
the  Palace  to  pay  their  homage  to  His  Grace  the  Queen's 
Commissioner.  From  Holyrood  they  marched  to  the  High 
Church.  This  venerable  fabric  seemed  also  to  renew  the 
days  of  old.  Beneath  that  canopy  where  James,  of 
pedantic  memory,  used  to  sit,  and  sometimes  dispute  with 
John  Durie  and  Patrick  Simpson,  sate  the  representative 
of  royalty,  and,  all  around,  the  gallery  was  garnished  \^dth 


OF  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  1843.  221 

the  parti- coloured  pomp  of  civic  functionaries,  whilst  the 
area  was  filled  with  that  grave  and  learned  auditory  which 
no  other  occasion  could  supply.  The  discourse,  'Let 
every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind/  was  a 
production  which,  for  wise  and  weighty  casuistry,  for  keen 
analysis  of  motive  and  fine  discrimination  of  truth,  and 
for  felicity  of  historic  illustration,  would  have  been  a  treat 
to  such  a  congregation  at  a  less  eventful  season.  With 
the  solemn  consciousness  that  in  the  'full  persuasion'  of 
their  own  minds  they  had  decided  in  another  hour  to  take 
a  step  in  which  character  and  worldly  comfort  and  mini- 
sterial usefulness  were  all  involved,  each  sentence  came 
with  a  sanction  which  such  sermons  seldom  carry.  When 
the  service  was  closing  the  audience  began  to  disperse 
with  a  precipitation  which  contrasted  strangely  with  the 
fixed  earnestness  of  their  previous  attention ;  for  the  place 
appointed  for  the  meeting  of  Assembly  lay  at  some  dis- 
tance, and  the  members  were  anxious  to  secure  their  seats, 
and  onlookers  were  anxious  to  get  near  the  spot.  In 
the  Assembly  Hall  many  of  the  gallery  spectators  had  sate 
nine  weary  hours ;  when  at  last  the  rapid  entrance  of 
members  by  either  door  announced  that  the  service  in  St. 
Giles's  was  over,  and  languid  countenances  were  again 
lighted  up  with  expectation.  It  did  not  look  like  the 
opening  of  a  General  Assembly.  There  was  not  the  usual 
vivacity  of  recognition,  and  that  hustling  to  and  fro  and 
ferment  of  joyous  voices  which  on  such  occasions  keep 
the  floor  all  astir  and  the  audience  aU  ahve.  Either  side 
was  serious.  The  one  party  had  that  awe  upon  their  spirits 
which  men  feel  when  doing  a  great  work.     Of  the  other 


222  TPIE  PROTEST  OF  THE  MODERATOR, 

party  some  had  that  cloud  upon  their  consciences  which 
men  feel  when  they  are  doing  a  wrong  work, — when  they 
see  others  doing  what  but  for  want  of  faith  themselves 
should  have  been  doing ;  and  others  more  honest,  con- 
sistent Erastians  of  the  old  school,  had  something  of  a 
funereal  feeling — sadness  in  parting  with  opponents  whom 
they  respected,  and  a  foreboding  impression  that  when 
these  were  gone  away  it  would  scarcely  be  worth  while 
remaining. 

"  At  last  the  jingle  of  horse-gear,  and  the  measured 
prance  on  the  pavement,  with  the  full  near  swell  of  the 
trumpet  seemed  to  say,  in  the  words  of  the  national 
melody, 

'  Now  's  the  day  and  now  's  the  hour.' 

The  martial  music  ceased,  and  the  Assembly  rose,  for  Her 
Majesty's  Commissioner  had  entered.  The  Moderator 
engaged  in  prayer,  and  as  soon  as  that  prayer  was  ended, 
and  the  members  had  resumed  their  seats  amidst  the 
breathless  silence  which  prevailed,  he  went  on  to  say, 
'According  to  the  usual  form  of  procedure,  this  is  the 
time  for  making  up  the  roll,  but  in  consequence  of  certain 
proceedings  affecting  our  rights  and  pri\dleges — proceed- 
ings whicli  have  been  sanctioned  by  Her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment and  by  the  Legislature  of  the  country,  and  more 
especially  in  respect  that  there  has  been  an  infringement 
on  the  hberties  of  our  Constitution,  so  that  we  could  not 
now  constitute  this  Court  without  a  violation  of  the  terms 
of  the  union  between  Church  and  State  in  this  land  as  now 
authoritatively  declared, — I  must  protest  against  our  pro- 
ceediujr  further.     The  reasons  that  have  led  me  to  this 


AND  THE  EXODUS  OF  THE  CHUECH.      223 

conclusion  are  fully  set  forth  in  the  document  which  I 
hold  in  my  hand,  and  which,  with  permission  of  the 
House,  I  shall  now  proceed  to  read.'  He  then  read  the 
Protest,  and  having  laid  it  on  the  table,  bowed  towards 
the  throne,  and  withdrew.  Man  by  man,  and  row  by 
row,  all  to  the  left  of  the  chair,  arose  and  followed.  An 
irrepressible  shout  of  gratulation  from  the  multitude  in 
the  street  annoimced  that  the  vanguard  was,  fairly  '  with- 
out the  camp,'  and,  orderly  and  slowly  retiring,  in  a  few 
short  minutes  all  were  gone.  Looking  at  the  long  ranges 
of  vacant  forms  from  which  the  pride  of  Scottish  genius 
and  the  flower  of  Scottish  piety  had  disappeared,  there 
were  few  spectators  who  did  not  feel,  '  the  glory  is 
departed.' 

"  It  was  a  striking  sight  to  see  the  dark  line,  for  haK  a 
mile  together,  moving  down  the  steep  dechvity  which  leads 
to  the  valley  of  Leith  Water.  In  the  distance  stood,  bright 
in  its  polished  freshness,  the  new  Assembly  Hall,  on  which 
they  had  turned  their  backs  for  ever.  On  either  side  was 
the  crowd  of  lookers-on — thronging  windows  and  balconies, 
and  outside  stairs — some  cheering,  and  others  hfting  their 
hats  in  silent  reverence — some  weeping,  many  wondering, 
and  a  few  endeavouring  to  smile.  And  in  the  middle  of 
the  street  held  on  the  long  procession,  which  included 
Welsh  and  Chalmers,  Gordon  and  Buchanan,  Keith  and 
MTarlan,  Alexander  Stewart  and  John  Macdonald,  Cun- 
ningham and  Candlish  ;  everything  of  which  a  Scotchman 
thinks  when  he  thinks  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  Humble 
in  its  original  destination,  and  prepared  in  haste,  but  of 
vast   dimensions,   and  crowded   with  an  eager  auditory, 


224  THE  ASSEMBLY  FREE. 

their  new  place  of  meeting  was  emblematic  of  that  new 
dispensation  in  the  history  of  the  Church  of  Scotland 
which  had  now  begun.  The  emblems  of  royal  patronage 
were  absent.  There  was  neither  canopy  nor  throne.  No 
civic  pomp  was  seen.  Magistrates  had  laid  aside  their 
robes  of  oftice,  and  none  of  Scotland's  nobles  had  come. 
But  the  heart  of  Scotland  was  there,  and  it  was  soon 
borne  in  on  every  mind  that  a  greater  than  Solomon  was 
there.  None  who  heard  them  can  ever  forget  the  fulness 
and  world-forgetting  rapture,  the  inspiration  of  the  opening 
prayers  ;  and  when  that  mighty  multitude  stood  up  to  sing, 
it  seemed  as  if  the  swell  of  vehement  melody  would  lift 
the  roof  from  off  the  walls.  And  when  at  last  the  adjourn- 
ment for  the  day  took  place,  and  in  the  brightness  of  a 
lovely  evening  the  different  groups  went  home,  all  felt  as 
if  returning  from  a  Pentecostal  meetincj.  A  common 
salutation  was — 'We  have  seen  strange  things  to-day.' 
Some,  contrasting  the  harmony  and  happiness  of  the  Free 
Assembly  with  the  strife  and  debate  of  other  days,  could 
not  help  exclaiming,  '  Behold  how  good  and  how  pleasant 
it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity  ! '  Many 
remembered  the  text  of  Dr.  Chahners's  sermon  six  months 
before  in  opening  the  Convocation, — 'Unto  the  upright 
light  shall  arise  in  the  darkness.'  And  at  the  family 
worship  of  those  memorable  evenings,  such  psalms  as  the 
124th  and  12Gth  were  often  sung,  and  were  felt  to  be 
'  new  songs.'  It  would  be  pleasant  to  dwell  upon  many 
of  the  features  of  the  Free  Church  Assemblies,  especially 
on  those  deputations  and  messages  of  symjtathy  and  con- 
gratulation which  they  received  from  so  many  churches, 


THE  DEED  OF  DEMISSION".  225 

and  on  those  tributes  of  approbation  and  encouragement 
which,  coming  in  from  so  many  quarters,  made  them  re- 
cognise the  good  hand  of  the  Lord  upon  them.  But  we 
have  only  room  to  state  that  Tuesday,  the  23d  of  May, 
was,  after  special  devotional  exercises,  employed  in  sub- 
scribing the  '  Act  of  Sepaeation  and  Deed  of  Demission,' 
by  which  470  ministers  did  'separate  from,  and  abandon 
the  present  subsisting  Ecclesiastical  Establishment 
IN  Scotland,  and  renounce  all  eights  or  emoluments 
pertaining  to  them  by  virtue  thereof.'  " 

"Though  subscribed  with  the  utmost  calmness  and 
alacrity,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  estimate  the  sacrifice 
which  that  Deed  of  Demission  implied.  It  is  something 
to  renounce  the  dignity  of  an  Established  Church,  and  the 
comforts  of  an  endowed  one.  These  ministers  did  both; 
and  some  will  best  understand  the  sacrifice,  wdieh  told  that 
the  gift  thus  laid  on  the  altar  is  a  revenue  of  more  than 
A  hundred  thousand  pounds  a  year.  But  this  is  a  very 
gross  and  vulgar  way  of  stating  it.  For  who  shall  estimate 
in  pounds  and  pence  the  home-ties  which  have  since  been 
broken?  Who  shall  put  a  price  upon  those  hallowed 
recollections  which  cluster  round  every  manse  and  church 
— all  the  more  tender  and  manifold  in  proportion  as  a  man 
of  God  was  the  presiding  spirit  there — round  the  manse 
where  infancy  was  cradled,  and  childhood  made  merry, 
and  opening  youth  first  learned  to  tread  with  thoughtfvil 
and  meditative  step — the  country  manse,  on  whose  roof- 
tree  rested  the  blessing  of  many  a  passer-by,  and  from 
whose  quiet  chambers  ascended,  heard  by  God  alone,  the 
prayer  of  the  pious  wayfarer,  turned  aside  to  tarry  for  a 

P 


226  FAMILY  WORSHIP  IN  EDINBURGH 

night,  and  through  whose  study  windows  streamed  at 
winter's  early  morn  the  radiance  of  his  lamp,  who,  like 
his  Master,  had  risen  up  a  great  while  before  the  dawn  to 
meditate  and  pray  ?  " 

Such  was  the  form  which  this  important  act  assumed. 
What  followed  is  matter  of  general  history,  and  cannot  be 
recorded  in  the  memoir  of  an  individual  Suffice  it  to 
say,  that  from  its  beginning  the  Pree  Church  has  ad- 
vanced with  astonishing  rapidity  and  solidness.  Every 
season  a  step  is  gained ;  and  every  step  that  is  gained  is 
held ;  till  now,  our  experience  has  done  much  to  supply 
reasons  and  data  for  the  greatest  revolution  in  imperial 
policy  which  this  age  has  witnessed. 

Many  a  "  church  in  the  house  "  assembled  within  the 
city  of  Edinburgh,  on  the  evening  of  that  memorable  day, 
to  praise  the  Lord  for  His  goodness.  It  was  under  the 
roof  of  the  late  James  Bonar,  W.S.,  brother  of  the  three 
ministers  of  that  name,  that  James  Hamilton  happened  to 
be  a  worshipper.  Called  to  conduct  the  devotions  of  the 
family,  after  they  had  fully  conversed  together  on  the 
great  events  of  the  day,  he  adopted  a  characteristic  and 
somewhat  startling  method  of  signalizing  the  crisis.  In- 
stead of  comment  suitable  to  the  occasion  on  a  portion 
of  the  Scriptures,  he  coolly  interpolated  a  large  addition 
to  the  text.  Having  announced  the  Eleventh  Chapter 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  as  the  portion  chosen,  he 
read,  in  his  usual  method,  marked  more  by  intelligence  and 
reverence  and  tenderness  than  by  artistic  elocution,  from 
the  beginning  onward,  through  the  heraldic  roll  of  ancient 
worthies  to  its  termination  at  the  thirty-second  verse,  and 


ON  THE  EVENING  OF  THE  DISKUPTION.  227 

witliont  pause  or  change  of  tone  prolonged  the  list,  intro- 
ducing in  rapid  succession  the  leading  and  representative 
names  of  early  confessors,  reformers,  and  missionaries, 
closing  with  Thomas  Chalmers,  the  beloved  leader  of  our 
own  accomphshed  exodus.  Without  a  word  more,  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  list,  he  bent  the  knee,  and  led  the 
devotions  of  the  company.  According  to  the  competent 
testimony  of  one  who  was  present,  the  ,Eev.  IMr.  For- 
dyce  of  Cardiff,  it  was  a  season  of  joy  and  enlarge- 
ment. The  hearts  of  those  disciples  burned  within 
them,  because  they  felt  that  the  Lord  was  with  them  by 
the  way. 

"11  FoRTiss  Terrace,  June  2,  1843. 

"  My  deae  Mr.  Hamilton, — Last  night  I  slept  here  for 
the  first  time,  and  felt  its  June  air  very  reviving  after  the 
labours  of  the  day.  The  Union  meeting  yesterday  was 
perhaps  the  most  successful  religious  meeting  ever  held  in 
London.  The  crowd  was  awful.  The  doors  were  opened 
at  8  A.M.,  and  the  hall  was  instantly  filled.  The  lower 
room  was  then  opened,  and  then  Queen  Street  Chapel, — 
but  though  they  were  crowded,  masses  of  people  could 
gain  admission  nowhere.  The  solemnity  and  heart-melt- 
ing of  the  assembly,  the  praises  and  the  prayers  (much  hke 
those  of  the  Free  Assembly)  betokened  the  Divine  pre- 
sence, and  I  trust  the  good  work  has  got  an  impulse 
which  wiU  not  speedily  be  forgotten.  I  lost  more  than 
half  of  the  addresses,  for  soon  after  giving  my  own,  the 
heat  and  exhaustion  were  such  that  I  had  to  come  away. 

"  In  the  evening  I  gave  the  first  of  a  short  course  of 
lectures  on  the  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.    Though 


228      RELATION  OF  THE  CHURCHES  IN  ENGLAND 

it  liad  only  been  announced   from  the   pulpit,  and   not 
advertised,  the  body  of  the  church  was  nearly  full, 

"  I  wish  you  would  consult  Mr.  Dunlop  regarding 
Eegent  Square.  He  has  a  copy  of  the  trust-deed.  As 
our  Synod  to  all  intents  forms  a  separate  Church  (like  the 
Ulster  Assembly),  I  did  not  feel  called  upon  to  sign  any 
adherence  in  Edinburgh,  hoping  that  our  Synod  will  give 
its  sanction  to  the  Free  Church  ecclesiastically.  But  still 
I  am  to  all  intents  identified  with  the  protesting  party, 
and  rather  than  give  an  equivocal  adherence,  would  run 
any  risks,  and  make  any  sacrifice ;  and  having  been  or- 
dained in  Scotland,  it  is  perhaps  expected  that  I  should 
do  what  other  ordained  ministers  have  done,  formally 
adhere.  What  would  become  of  the  building  in  that 
event  ?  But  even  without  a  formal  adherence,  I  should 
not  wonder  though  the  Moderate  brethren  should  secede 
from  us  and  declare  themselves  the  Presbytery  of  London, 
in  connexion  with  the  Church  of  Scotland.  From  sundry 
hints  and  rumours,  I  think  that  Brown  and  Cumming 
contemplate  a  separation ;  and  at  the  meeting  of  Pres- 
bytery on  Tuesday  se'nnight  I  expect  some  resolution. 
Should  no  change  be  effected  in  the  interval,  it  is  plain 
that  the  building  will  eventually  be  forfeited  to  the  Eras- 
tian  Church,  probably  on  the  first  vacancy ;  and  I  believe 
it  would  be  easier  to  erect  or  buy  a  new  place  of  worship 
during  an  incumbency  than  during  a  vacancy,  and  easier 
to  raise  £5000  to  build  a  new  church  and  school  than  the 
same  sum  to  pay  off  the  debt  on  the  present  one.  On  the 
other  side,  the  temptation  is  strong  to  cling  to  the  last  to 
a  fabric  matchless  in  its  kind,  and  which  has  been  reared 


TO  THE  SCOTTISH  ESTABLISHMENT.  229 

at  sucli  sacrifices.  But  then  tliey  have  done  the  same  in 
Scotland — witness  St.  George's,  the  Assembly  Hall,  the 
new  churches.  These  are  some  of  the  coQ;itations  which 
are  often  passing  through  my  mind  at  present,  and  will 
prove  at  least  that  I  am  considerably  in  the  dark."  .  .  . 
"7  Lansdowne  Place,  June  14,  IS43. 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Hamilton, — Yesterday  the  Presbytery 
met.  Blair  in  the  chair.  After  sundry  matters  of  busi- 
ness had  been  harmoniously  settled,  the  call  from  Com- 
mercial Eoad  came  on.  The  Moderator  (who  had  evidently 
received  his  instructions)  said, — '  Mr.  Ferguson,  in  the 
name  of  the  Presbytery  of  London,  in  coiuiexion  with  the 
Established  Church  of  Scotland,  I  ask  you  if  you  accept  this 
call  ? '  Mr.  Ferguson  said, — '  I  accept  the  call  to  be  minis- 
ter of  that  church.'  Whereupon  Mr.  Burns,  seconded  by  Dr. 
Brown,  moved  that  the  Presbytery  proceed  with  the  settle- 
ment on  Thursday,  the  29th.  This  was  agreed  to,  and 
Mr.  Lorimer  was  appointed  to  preside  at  the  induction. 
Mr,  Lorimer  said, — '  I  have  a  question  to  ask.  Do  the  words 
"  Established  order,"  etc.,  in  the  questions  and  formula 
recognise  the  Church  of  Scotland  as  by  law  established? 
for  if  they  do,  I  cannot  conscientiously  preside  on  this 
occasion.'  The  Moderates  answered, — *  Of  course.  You  are 
to  induct  Mr.Eerguson  into  the  Estabhshed  Church  of  Scot- 
land. You  cannot  admit  him  into  this  Presbytery  without 
admitting  him  into  the  Church  of  Scotland  as  by  law  estab- 
lished.' I  held — (1.)  that  the  formula  did  not  recognise  the 
Church  presently  established,  and  (2.)  that  admission  into 
this  Presbytery  did  not  recognise  that  Church,  for  most  of 
us  were  only  waiting,  in  the  altered  circumstances  of  that 


230  DISRUPTION  IN  THE  PRESBYTERY. 

Establishment,  till  our  ecclesiastical  superior,  the  Synod, 
should  erase  from  its  title  any  recognition  of  that  Church. 
However,  as  it  was  very  plain  that  they  meant  to  make  a 
sinistrous  use  of  the  present  designation  of  the  Presbytery, 
it  might  simplify  matters  to  alter  it  at  once,  which  we 
were  quite  competent  to  do,  the  Presbytery  having  existed 
as  a  Presbytery  before  it  entered  into  connexion  with  the 
Church  of  Scotland.  It  was  accordingly  moved, — 'That 
the  words  "  in  connexion  with  the  Established  Church  of 
Scotland  "  be  henceforth  omitted  in  the  designation  of  the 
Presbytery.'  The  Moderator  refused  to  put  the  motion,  as 
being  revolutionary  and  imcompetent ;  whereupon  it  was 
moved  that  the  Moderator  havincj  refused  to  discharge  Ms 
duty,  has  lost  the  confidence  of  the  Presbytery,  and  that 
Mr.  Lorimer  be  appointed  Moderator  in  his  stead ;  which 
motion  was  put  by  the  Clerk,  and  carried,  the  Moderator 
not  voting.  This  disconcerted  the  enemy  a  little,  and,  in 
a  sort  of  panic,  Blair  declared  the  Presbytery  adjourned, 
and  amidst  much  outcry  of  the  audience  against  its  pro- 
fanity, pronounced  the  blessing,  on  which  the  four  minis- 
ters, with  Stewart  and  Nicolson,  elders,  marched  out,  and 
Kay  and  the  Woolwich  elder,  Eutherford,  retired  from  the 
table.  Their  departure  elicited  a  burst  of  hissing  and 
derisive  cheers  from  the  audience,  which  was  considerable. 
When  they  were  gone,  and  our  own  Moderator  in  the 
chair,  after  prayer,  the  business  again  proceeded.  The 
motion  to  erase  the  words  'in  connexion,'  etc.,  was  harmoni- 
ously agreed  to,  and  after  some  further  business  the  Pres- 
bytery adjourned.  AVe  had  thirty-four  at  the  Presbytery 
dinner,  and  far  tlie  happiest  evening  we  have  spent  there. 


EIGHT  OF  PROPERTY  IN  THE  CHURCH.  231 

.  .  .  The  Moderates,  before  adjourning,  forgot  to  fix  a  day 
and  place  for  their  next  meeting,  so  that  they  are  presby- 
teriaUy  defunct.  Though  my  own  wish  was  to  stave  this 
disruption  off  for  a  time,  now  that  it  is  over,  every  one 
feels  relieved  and  lightened.  Our  way  was  '  fenced  with 
thorns/  so  that  we  had  no  alternative.  J.  H." 

Thus  the  great  central  convulsion  which  took  place  at 
Edinburgh  in  May  produced  successive  waves  at  later 
dates,  in  England  and  throughout  the  Colonies,  wherever 
the  Church  of  Scotland  had  put  forth  her  efforts  and 
planted  her  roots.  Thus  the  Disruption  repeated  itself  in 
miniature  in  the  Presbytery  of  London.  The  greatest 
danger  to  be  apprehended  in  that  quarter  was  lest  the 
adherents  of  the  Establishment  should  succeed  in  wrench- 
ing the  National  Scotch  Church  in  Eegent  Square  from 
those  who  had  reared  it  at  great  cost,  and  were  attached 
to  it  by  many  solemn  memories.  The  attention  of  the 
minister  and  session  was  immediately  directed  to  the 
threatened  point.  In  the  first  instance  they  evaded  the 
danger,  and  ultimately  escaped  it  altogether.  In  this  case 
a  debt  of  £5000  adhering  to  the  fabric  turned  out  a  bless- 
ing in  disguise.  Although  the  structure,  which  had  cost 
in  all  £21,000,  was  at  that  period  worth  much  more  in  the 
market  than  the  amount  of  the  debt ;  yet  that  amount  was 
sufficient  in  the  first  instance  to  paralyse  the  arm  of  those 
who  might  possibly  have  made  good  the  claim  to  the  pro- 
perty in  a  court  of  law. 

In  reference  to  the  incidental  benefit  which  the  burden 
conferred.  Dr.  Hamilton,  at  a  later  date,  when  a  question 


232  THE  PEOPERTY  SECUPED  TO  THE  CONGREGATION. 

was  raised  regarding  debt  on  clmrches  generally,  whether 
its  effect  is  salutary  or  adverse,  made  a  liappy  discrimina- 
tion, which  deserves  to  be  recorded.  It  is  good,  he  said, 
to  have  a  debt  attached  to  the  buildinsr  as  Ions  as  the 
weight  is  needed  to  prevent  the  Establishment  from 
snatching  the  property.  It  is  hke  laying  a  great  stone 
upon  a  man  during  a  gale  to  prevent  him  from  being 
blown  away ;  but  when  the  gale  is  over,  it  will  conduce  to 
the  man's  comfort  to  remove  the  stone.  He  will  breathe 
more  freely ;  he  wiU  even  be  able  to  rise  and  walk  about. 

Besides  the  mainstay  of  the  debt,  there  were  certain 
other  anchors  which  helped  the  owners  to  make  good  their 
hold.  In  the  constitution  of  the  trust,  the  main  or  only 
link  that  bound  the  property  to  the  Established  Church  of 
Scotland  consisted  of  a  condition  that  the  minister  must 
be  ordained  to  his  office  by  one  of  the  Presbyteries  of  the 
Scottish  Church.  This  condition  had  been  fulfilled  ;  and 
it  was  doubtful  whether  the  subsequent  adherence  of  the 
minister  to  the  principles  of  the  Free  Church  could  be  held 
as  a  positive  infringement  during  his  incumbency.  It  is 
believed  that,  if  Mr.  Hamilton  had  been  removed  at  that 
time,  it  might  have  been  successfully  maintained  that  no 
successor  could  be  appointed  unless  ordained  in  Scotland 
by  the  legally  acknowledged  courts. 

It  has  further  been  thought — but  this  being  only  private 
conjecture,  and  not  established  fact,  must  be  taken  for  no 
more  than  it  is  worth — that,  as  an  able  and  influential 
minister  adhering  to  the  Scottish  Establishment  in  London, 
not  having  been  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Edinburgh, 
could  never  have  legally  become  himself  the  incumbent  of 


LAW  AND  EQUITY.  23 o 

Eegent  Square,  he  may  not  have  been  zealous  in  asserting 
the  claims  of  the  Estabhshment  to  the  property,  and  so 
placing  another  in  this  important  and  conspicuous  posi- 
tion. It  is  not  impossible,  and  not  discreditable,  that  such 
views  should  have  been  entertained. 

Through  these  and  other  causes  the  owners  were  left  in 
undisturbed  possession  of  their  property,  till,  as  we  shall 
find  at  a  subsequent  stage  of  our  narrative,  an  opportunity 
occurred  of  placing  it  on  a  permanent  and  sure  foundation. 

The  advisers  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  as  by  law  estab- 
lished, have  from  that  day  till  now  thought  it  their  duty 
to  seize  every  church  and  school  which  could  be  legally 
claimed  by  that  corporation  as  now  constituted,  whatever 
might  be  the  aspect  of  the  case  in  equity.  Of  late  some 
examples  have  occurred  which  inlhct  such  hardship  on  the 
one  side  and  bring  so  much  scandal  on  the  other,  that  the 
judges,  while  obliged  to  decide  in  favour  of  the  pursuers 
according  to  the  technicalities  of  law,  could  not  refrain 
from  expressing  publicly  their  regret  that  ever  such  deci- 
sion was  demanded  at  their  hands.-^  Probably  the  next 
generation  of  Churchmen  will  be  wiser  than  the  last.  A 
certain  teacher,  who  is  said  to  ground  his  scholars  well, 
but  to  charge  a  high  fee,  will  undertake  their  education. 
They  will  discover  that  old  parchments  will  not  avail  to 
hold  an  Erastian  corporation  that  has  drifted  away  from 
the  principles  of  a  nobler  past.  When  law  and  justice  are 
rent  asunder,  the  national  will  and  the  Imperial  Parlia- 
ment may  perhaps  bring  the  divorced  pair  together  again. 

1  Case  of  St.  John's,  Leith. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

1843-1846. 

"Dalblair  House,  8t7i  Sept.  184.'], 
Ayrshire  (Mr.  Gillespie's). 

"  A  MONTH  of  recreation  is  ending,  and  it  has  served  the 
purpose  for  which  I  sought  it.  I  feel  stronger  in  body ; 
and  the  time  has  passed,  on  the  whole,  pleasantly.  Here 
I  have  experienced  remarkable  kindness  from  Mrs.  Gil- 
lespie ;  and  a  few  days  spent  at  Dunoon  Castle  passed 
most  pleasantly  in  the  society  of  Mrs.  Eglinton  and  her 
sister, — one  in  whom  religion  wears  its  loveliest  form, 
and  breathes  its  sweetest  spirit.  The  mercies  of  this 
sojourn  in  Scotland  are — 

"1.  Increase  of  strength. 

"  2.  Kindness  of  friends,  Mr.  Buchanan,  Mrs.  Gillespie, 
Mrs.  Eglinton.  In  this  respect  no  minister  is  perhaps  so 
favoured.  How  many  homes  I  have, — besides  the  above, 
Willenhall,  Mr.  Hamilton's,  Walthamstow,  now  Clapton, 
and  my  uncle's,  Mr.  Alexander  Hamilton's  house,  the 
whole  summer  at  Kentishtown. 

"3.  Edifying  society — Dr.  Mackay,  Miss  Low,  Steven- 
son, ]\Irs.  Wodrow,  INIr.  Landsborough. 

"  Had  my  brother  Andrew  with  me  ;  and  met  William, 


BR.  GUTHRIE  INVITED  TO  LONDON.  235 

who  has  now  got  a  unanimous  call  to  the  Free  Church  of 
Stonehouse,  and  labours  with  much  acceptance.  Besides 
preaching  at  Stonehouse  and  Dunoon,  and  writing  two 
papers  on  the  Disruption  for  America,  and  some  letters, 
etc.,  have  done  no  work. 

Eesolutions. 

"  1.  Avoid  frivolity.  Tell  no  undignified  anecdotes,  and 
engage  in  no  conversation  unworthy  of  a  minister. 

"  2.  Give  this  winter  to  Eegent  Sq^uare.  Form  as  few 
extrinsic  engagements  as  possible. 

"  3.  Be  the  minister — the  ambassador  for  Christ  where- 
ever  I  go." 

"  7  Lansdowne  Place,  Oct.  13,  1S43. 
"  j\Iy  deae  Me.  Hamilton, — Since  I  heard  the  news  of 
Wednesday  morning,  I,  like  yourself  and  others,  have  felt 
exceedingly  disheartened  in  regard  to  further  proceedings 
for  the  extension  of  our  cause  in  London,  so  much  so  that 
I  have  not  finished  the  prospectus  of  the  newspaper. 
Whether  these  discouragements  are  an  intimation  of  God's 
providential  will,  or  whether  they  be  temptations  of  the 
Adversary,  permitted  to  try  our  faith  and  patience,  I  cannot 
at  this  moment  say.  From  what  Mr.  Burns's  sister  said 
to  my  mother,  I  should  think  it  easy  to  prevail  on  Mr. 
Guthrie  to  come  to  London.  If  he,  or  such  as  he,  were 
here,  it  would  be  worth  while  proceeding  with  the  news- 
paper, church  extension,  etc.  ;  and  perhaps  it  might  be 
worth  while  at  to-morrow's  meeting  to  consider  if  a  stronn- 
application  should  not  be  made  to  him  directly.  He  knows 
London  and  our  case,  and  his  answer  would  perhaps  throw 


236  MR.  WILLIAM  CHALMERS. 

light  on  our  future  course  of  duty.  •  Something  should  bo 
done  to  bring  the  matter  to  a  bearing,  for  unless  we  are 
to  get  one  or  two  first-rate  ministers  from  Scotland,  all 
furtlier  labour  in  the  cause  of  the  Free  Church  in  London 
will  be  labour  thrown  away.  ]\Ir.  Guthrie  in  London, 
would  be  a  mine  of  wealth  to  our  friends  in  the  north  for 
the  next  two  or  three  years,  and  would  be  the  cheapest  and 
most  effective  deputation  they  could  send  to  England." 

The  reference  here  is  to  Dr.  Guthrie  of  Edinburgh.  An 
effort  was  made  at  that  time  to  induce  him  to  settle  in 
London.  At  various  periods  strong  appeals  were  made  to 
the  Free  Church  to  send  some  of  her  experienced  ministers 
to  the  metropolis.  They  were  never  to  any  great  extent 
successfid.  Whether  in  this  matter  the  church  in  Scot- 
land acted  wisely  it  would  be  difficult  to  determine.  The 
reasons  were  strong  on  both  sides.  The  ablest  ministers 
were  greatly  needed  in  the  south  ;  but  they  were  greatly 
needed  too  at  home.  Some  think  the  Presbyterian  Church 
would  have  strengthened  herself  by  striking  more  boldly 
out ;  others  believe  she  did  better  by  fully  manning  the 
centre  in  Scotland.  The  Assembly  did  not  feel  itself  strong 
enough  to  take  the  decision  into  its  own  hand  ;  and,  in 
most  cases,  when  the  responsibility  was  left  with  the 
minister  who  receiA' ed  the  call,  he  was  obliged,  in  want  of 
commanding  reasons  for  removal,  to  decide  in  favour  of  the 
sphere  which  he  already  occupied. 

About  this  time,  however,  a  young  minister  of  great 
talent  was  induced  to  accept  a  metropolitan  charge  in 
Marylebone,  Mr.  AVilliam   Chalmers,  minister  of  Dailly, 


KEMINISCEKCES  OF  MR.  M'CHEYNE.  237 

in  Ayrshire.  After  serving  the  cause  for  five-and-twenty 
years  as  minister  of  a  congregation,  he  now  fills  a  chair 
in  the  theological  college  of  the  English  Presbyterian 
Church, 

TO  REV.  A.  BOXAi;,  COLLAGE. 

"  7  Lansdowne  Place,  Nov.  1,  1843. 

"  My  dear  Brother, — This  is  the  week  of  our  Eegent 
Square  Communion,  and  so  many  recollections  of  Eobert 
M'Cheyne  are  called  up  by  the  return  of  tliis  season,  that 
I  find  it  easier  to  fulfil  your  old  request,  and  set  down 
anything  I  can  remember,  than  to  do  aught  else  at  present. 
The  first  time  I  saw  him  was  when  a  student  at  Edinburgh, 
about  six  years  ago.  He  preached  in  St.  Luke's,  on  the 
morning  of  a  sacramental  Fast,  but  I  remember  nothinsz  of 
the  sermon  except  his  quoting  that  saying  of  one  of  our 
worthies  : — '  Lord,  stay  Thy  hand,  for  Thy  puir  servant  is 
but  an  earthen  vessel,  and  can  hold  no  more.'  I  did  liOt 
like  his  voice  ;  for,  before  I  knew  himself,  I  thought  its 
r'ow  and  almost  singing  cadence,  affectation,  and  besides 
I  was  too  cold-hearted  to  have  much  relish  for  what  he 
said.  He  himself  did  not  like  to  preach  in  Edinburgh. 
He  thought  it  the  most  '  decent'  town  in  the  kingdom,  and 
therefore  one  on  which  it  was  difficult  to  produce  much 
impression.  Next  winter,  when  excessive  work  had 
weakened  his  health  and  laid  him  aside,  I  met  him  once 
or  twice  at  Dr.  Candlish's ;  and  it  was  there  I  began  to 
love  him.  When  he  returned  from  Palestine  to  St.  Peter's, 
on  the  5th  Nov.  1839,  along  with  Eobert  Macdonald,  and 
one  or  two  others,  I  was  present,  and  heard  his  address 


2o8  REMINISCENCES  OF  ME.  M  CHEYNE. 

to  the  multitudinous  assembly  which  crowded  his  church 
that  evening.  His  subject  was  1  Cor.  ii.  1-5.  Some  were 
disappointed  that  he  did  not  say  a  word  about  his  pilgri- 
mage to  the  Holy  Land.  But  his  great  anxiety  was  that 
his  people  would  turn  their  faces  Zionwards;  and  not 
knowing  how  long  his  present  convalescence  might  last  he 
was  the  more  urgent.  His  discourse  had  the  desired 
result  in  the  case  of  at  least  one  hearer,  who  had  withstood 
all  the  singular  influences  of  the  preceding  revival,  but 
who  that  night  began  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come. 
When  the  congregation  dismissed,  the  street  was  so  crowded 
with  people  pressing  round  him  to  get  a  grasp  of  his  hand, 
that,  weak  as  he  was  at  any  rate,  he  was  nearly  exhausted 
before  we  dragged  him  through  to  his  own  house.  After 
this  I  remained  at  Abernyte  twelve  months,  and  saw  him 
very  often.   .    .   . 

"  It  was  pleasant  to  preach  in  St.  Peter's  Church.  The 
children  on  the  pulpit  stairs,  the  prayers  in  the  vestry,  the 
solemn  and  often  crowded  auditory,  the  sincerity  of  all  the 
worship,  and  the  often-felt  presence  of  God,  made  it  like 
few  other  sanctuaries.  It  was  only  on  week- evenings  that 
I  was  ever  there,  but  perhaps  they  were  more  remarkable 
than  even  the  Sabbaths.  In  one  of  his  notes  Mv.  ]\rCheyne 
says, — '  The  Thursday  meetings  are  dear  to  me.  They  will 
doubtless  be  remembered  in  eternity  with  songs  of  praise.' 
One  reason  for  the  peculiar  blessing  which  rested  on  them 
was  the  happy  freedom  which  they  gave  the  minister. 
He  could  then  descend  from  the  statcliness  of  sermons  to 
the  most  famihar  and  affectionate  and  varied  addresses ; 
and  as  members  of  other  congregations  could  attend  them, 


REMINISCENCES  OF  MK.  M'CHEYNE.  239 

the  benefit  was  widely  diffused.  So  sensible  was  Mr. 
M'Cheyne  of  the  special  presence  of  the  Spirit  in  his 
ministry  in  St.  Peter's,  that  I  remember,  when  leaving 
Abernyte,  he  said  to  me,  '  I  would  beg  my  bread  to  get 
preaching  in  Dundee.'  Notwithstanding  this  his  ministry 
had  its  trials.  The  greatest  of  these  was  the  carnality  of 
Christians,  '  some  saying,  I  am  of  Paul,  and  others,  I  of 
Apollos.'  On  his  return  from  Palestine,  he  found  many 
for  whom  he  had  formerly  longed  in  the  bowels  of  Christ 
awakened  or  brought  to  Christ  by  the  messages  of  that 
dear  brother  who  supphed  his  absence.  These  almost 
deprecated  an  event  which  would  supersede  the  man  who 
who  had  been  to  them  as  an  angel  of  God,  and  they  scarcely 
concealed  their  disappointment  at  their  own  pastor's  arrival 
However,  through  the  meekness  and  magnanimity  afforded 
to  liimself  and  Mr.  Burns,  the  trial  passed  away.  Once 
that  we  were  speaking  of  idols,  he  said,  'My  congregation 
was  my  idol,  I  used  to  think  that  there  was  no  people  like 
them  in  the  world.  But  what  happened  after  my  return 
has  made  me  see  that  I  must  seek  other  souls  besides  those 
in  St.  Peter's.'     He  was  with  us  at  this  time  last  year."  .  .  . 

"LoKDON,  Feh.  .'),  1844. 

"  My  dear  WiLLiAir, — Yesterday  was  om-  father's  birth- 
day ;  and  next  April  it  will  be  twenty  years  since  he  made 
his  only  pilgrimage  to  London.  It  is  rather  remarkable 
that  this  year  I  should  be  engaged  to  preach  three  of  the 
anniversary  sermons — for  the  London  Missionary,  the 
Wesleyan  Missionary,  and  the  Christian  Instruction 
Societies.     At  that  time  we  were  little  shavers,  floating 


240       PASTORAL  WORK  AND  LITERARY  PROJECTS. 

our  cocoa-sliell  boats  in  the  burn  below  the  bridge  ;  read- 
in'T  a  good  deal  withal,  but  little  dreaming  where  we  should 
be  this  day. 

"  Nothing  in  your  letter  delighted  me  more  than  your 
affection  for  your  people.  Without  tliis  there  can  be  no 
eminent  success.  I  never  felt  more  love  to  my  people  as 
a  people  than  yesterday.  I  had  a  great  desire  to  give 
myself  entirely  to  them  ;  to  the  cultivation  of  their  friend- 
ship, and  pastoral  labours  among  them.  We  really  abound 
in  interesting  members.  But,  alas  !  my  sighs  after  pastoral 
labour  are  very  abortive.  Tliis  week  I  already  know  of 
nine  meetings  of  different  sorts  which  I  must  attend.  Then 
comes  the  deputation  from  Scotland  ;  then  public  sermons 
and  missionary  meetings  in  Bristol  and  Manchester  ;  then 
the  May  meetings,  etc. 

"There  is  one  thing  for  which  I  long  to  get  a  little 
leisure.  jNIy  impression  is  that  I  might  be  more  useful 
with  the  pen  than  in  preaching.  I  have  the  idea  of  two 
or  three  little  publications,  for  which  I  have  all  the 
materials  in  some  shape  or  other,  but  not  the  publishing 
shape.  ISTothing  which  I  have  written  could  be  printed 
without  my  own  revision  ;  but  some  tilings  are  in  such  a 
state  that  a  few  days  would  make  them  readable. 

"  However,  more  especially  since  I  have  committed 
myself  to  a  lecture  on  New  Testament  biography  every 
Thursday  evening,  it  is  all  I  can  do  to  prepare  three  dis- 
coiirses  in  the  week,  without  ever  looking  back  to  what  is 
over  and  gone. — Yours  most  affectionately, 

"  Jamks  Hamilton." 


MEMOIR  OF  ROBEKT  M'CHEYNE.  241 

TO  REV.  ANDREW  BONAR. 

"7  Lansdowne  Place,  April  13,  1844. 

"  My  dear  Brother, — It  was  only  ou  Wednesday  night, 
returning  from  a  week  of  preaching  in  Manchester,  that  I 
found  the  precious  volumes  awaiting  me.  They  have 
occupied  all  my  spare  moments,  and  I  fear  some  others, 
since  I  have  had  the  Memoir.  It  was  not  possible  for 
anything  to  be  more  truthful,  or  more  edifying.  The  only 
thing  which  I  felt  wanting  is  that  which  no  book  can 
preserve,  the  atmosphere  which  used  to  fill  St.  Peter's,  and 
surround  himself.  Perhaps  a  little  more  might  have  been 
added  to  convey  to  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  Bethel- like 
sacredness  of  Sabbaths  and  communions  in  that  church, 
as  well  as  the  peculiar  impression  of  '  God  is  here '  diffused 
around  his  person,  and  through  liis  dwelling.  However,  I 
am  perhaps  only  wishing  that  his  biographer  could  have 
made  him  rise  from  the  dead,  for  the  facts  supplied  could 
scarcely  have  been  more  minute  and  characteristic,  or  the 
delineation  more  felicitous.  And  certainly  the  great  end 
has  been  attained  of  teaching  the  reader  where  all  his 
well-springs  lay.  It  will,  I  trust,  be  widely  read  in  Eng- 
land, and  is  wonderfully  fitted  to  quicken  ministers. 
Truly  the  Lord  has  guided  you  with  His  eye.  May  you 
hear  of  many  souls  to  whom  it  is  made  a  blessing. — Yours 
with  much  affection,  James  Hamilton." 

"April  14,  1844. — It  is  nine  years  this  day  since  my 
dear  father  closed  his  ministry,  and  preached  his  last 
sermon. 

"  I  was  then  a  student  in  the  first  year  of  my  theological 

Q 


242  REMEMBERING  MERCIES. 

course,  and  felt  very  helpless  and  desolate  when  I  found 
that  I  was  really  fatherless.  The  Lord  took  me  up,  and 
by  a  way  Avhich  I  knew  not,  from  Strathblane  by  Easter- 
house,  Edinburgh,  Abernyte,  Eoxburgh  Chapel,  He  has 
brought  us  here.  Of  how  many  mercies  I  could  sing  if 
mine  were  a  singing  heart ;  but  the  chiefest  is  that  whilst 
the  Lord  has  taken  my  dear  father  to  his  rest,  I  trust  he 
has  guided  all  of  us  who  remain  into  that  road  which  leads 
to  it.  I  have  the  same  persuasion  regarding  the  two  who 
are  not.  There  was  more  than  intelligence  in  Ehzabeth ; 
more  than  sweetness  in  Mary.  I  believe  there  was  the 
Spirit's  transforming  work  in  both.  I  beheve  that  our 
parents  devoted  all  of  us  to  God ;  and  we  can  never  be 
sufficiently  grateful  for  our  father's  fervent  prayers,  his 
occasional  affecting  exhortations,  liis  wisdom,  and,  above 
all,  liis  holy  and  elevated  walk ;  our  mother's  kind  and 
careful  upbringing,  and  our  Aunt  Elizabeth's  lovely  ex- 
emphfication  of  the  meek  and  quiet  and  gentle  graces. 

"  I  have  been  tliinking  seriously  this  afternoon  of  my 
position  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  I  wish  to  ascertain,  as 
far  as  the  word  and  providence  and  the  Spirit  may  give 
hght,  how  I  may  most  efficiently  serve  my  blessed  Master 
during  the  httle  time  that  I  may  continue  here.  I  have 
some  advantages  for  ministerial  usefulness, 

"  1.  An  attached  congregation,  with  many  shining  Chris- 
tians, many  congenial  friends,  and  several  liberal  pro- 
moters of  schemes  of  usefulness,  among  them, 

"  2.  A  kirk-session  containing  wise  and  devoted  elders, 
and  active  M'illing-hearted  deacons, — office-bearers  to 
whom  the  people  look  uj)  with  affection  and  respect. 


TALENTS  INTRUSTED.  243 

"  3.  Some  miscellaneous  information,  which  all  ministers 
have  not  been  able  to  acquire.  Owing  to  the  extent  and 
variety  of  my  father's  Hbrary,  and  having  an  hereditary 
taste  for  books,  I  read  a  great  deal  before  I  was  hcensed. 
And  as  my  father's  circumstances  enabled  me  to  give 
myself  wholly  to  the  business  of  college,  without  the  dis- 
traction of  private  teaching,  I  got  attending  such  classes 
as  astronomy,  natural  history,  botany,  chemistry  (twice), 
not  included  in  the  usual  course.  To  which  may  be  added 
some  facility  in  writing,  partly  attained  by  early  practice 
and  partly  by  the  abundant  perusal  of  the  classics,  having 
read  nearly  all  the  pure  Greek  and  Latin  authors. 

"  4.  The  good- will  of  many  ministers  of  different  de- 
nominations, and  the  friendship  of  some  of  the  most 
eminent. 

"  5.  Owing  to  the  circulation  of  the  tracts,  I  find  that 
my  name  is  not  unknown  in  many  places  where  I  have 
never  been,  and  when  I  go  to  such  places  people  are  ready 
to  come  and  hear  me. 

"  6.  The  restraining  grace  of  God  has  preserved  my 
character.  Plad  it  not  been  for  His  preventing  mercy  I 
should  have  fallen  into  sins  which  must  have  proved  for 
ever  fatal  to  ministerial  usefulness.  No  doubt  people's 
opinion  regarding  me  will  be  very  diverse,  and  my  proud 
heart  has  sometimes  been  wounded  by  incidentally  learn- 
ing what  others  thought  of  me.  Still,  I  record  mth 
trembling  thankfulness  that  hitherto  I  have  been  kept 
from  those  outbreakincfs  of  sin  into  Avhich  some  bretlu'en 

O 

whose  hearts  were  no  worse  than  mine  have  been  suffered 
to  fall,  and  some  of  them  (I  have  reason  to  think)  the 


244  TALENTS  INTRUSTED. 

children  of  God.  It  is  also  a  mercy  that  tlie  view  of 
ecclesiastical  polity  which  I  had  previously  adopted  was 
one  which  I  did  not  need  to  change  at  the  recent  Disrup- 
tion, for  public  consistency  is  no  small  part  of  ministerial 
character. 

"  7.  I  have  no  worldly  cares.  I  am  neither  married  nor 
engaged.  I  have  my  dear  mother  and  sister  taking  charge 
of  all  household  concerns.  My  mother's  income  and  my 
stipend,  ana  the  blessing  of  God,  which  has  remarkably 
attended  the  former,  secure  us  every  comfort.  We  want 
for  no  good  tiling. 

"  These  advantages  I  owe  entirely  to  the  grace  of  God. 
He  gave  me  my  father  and  my  education.  He  brought 
me  to  Eegent  Square.  He  has  put  all  the  kindness  into 
the  hearts  of  my  beloved  people.  He  enabled  me  oO  write 
the  Church  in  the  House  and  the  Dew  of  Hermo7i,  and 
then  found  favour  for  them.  And  most  especially.  He 
has  withheld  me  from  those  sins  which,  had  I  been  left  to 
myself,  I  should  have  committed,  and  which  if  I  had  com- 
mitted, I  should  have  been  constrained  to  hide  my  head,  in- 
stead of  appearing  in  the  pulpit  as  an  ambassador  of  Christ. 

"But  seeing  that  the  Lord  has  not  only  put  me  into 
the  ministry,  but  given  me  these  advantages  for  prose- 
cuting it,  the  question  is, — and  this  inquiry  has  prompted 
me  to  take  up  the  pen, — how  shall  I  employ  these  most 
effectually  in  His  best  and  dearest  service  ?  The  reahza- 
tion  of  my  position  has  impressed  me  this  afternoon  with 
feelings  of  solemnity  and  responsibihty.  Truly  there  is 
an  open  door,  and,  if  health  and  life  be  spared,  something 
may  be  effected  for  the  hallowing  of  the  Father's  name, 


HOW  THE  TALENTS  MAY  BE  EMPLOYED.        245 

and  the  furtherance  of  Christ's  kingdom.  What  is  it  ? 
In  my  situation,  and  with  such  talents  as  the  Lord  has 
intrusted  to  me,  what  is  it  that  I  can  best  do  for  carrying 
forward  the  great  work  which  brought  the  Son  of  God 
from  heaven  to  earth  ?  My  impression  is,  that  one  of  the 
greatest  services  wdiich  could  be  rendered  to  the  cause  of 
Clirist  is  the  elevation  of  Christian,  and  especially  of  Tnini- 
sterial,  charaeter. 

"  I  see  plainly  that  few  Christians  are  as  happy  in 
Christ  and  as  fruitful  as  they  might  be.  I  am  hopeful 
that  a  more  elevated  ministry  and  a  more  exemplary 
Church  might  have  an  unprecedented  influence  on  a  care- 
less world.  I  am  sure  that  in  such  a  Church,  and  with 
such  a  ministry,  the  Father  would  be  glorified. 

"  1.  I  must  begin  with  myself.  Oh  that  I  were  an 
exemplary  Christian  !  Lord,  give  me  a  simple  faith,  a  firm 
assurance,  an  outlooking  eye  ever  fixed  on  the  Lamb  of 
God !  Fill  me  with  the  Spirit.  Let  the  Word  dwell  in 
me  richly,  and  shine  through  me  conspicuously.  Free  me 
from  the  besetting  sins  hereafter  enumerated.  Lift  me 
up  to  a  new  level  of  faith  and  fervour  and  devotedness, 
and  let  me  never  come  down  again. 

"  2.  My  own  congregation.  I  will  not  resolve,  but  pray 
to  see  Ptegent  Square  a  pattern  church,  full  of  lively, 
humble,  seK- spending,  Christ-exalting,  prayerful,  and 
praising  members. 

"  3.  My  brethren  of  the  Presbytery  and  Synod.  I  have 
little  availed  myself  of  their  kindness,  and  our  intercourse 
for  high  and  God-glorifying  ends;  and  occasional  feeble 
efforts  in  that  direction  have  been  countervailed  by  num- 


246  "the  dew  of  hermon." 

berless  incongruities.  More  might  be  done  to  make  our 
body  a  blessing  in  the  land.     Judges  vi.  15. 

"  4.  The  Church  of  Christ  at  large.  By  occasional  ser- 
mons, pubHcations,  personal  intercourse,  something  might 
be  done  towards  reviving  rehgion,  and  raising  the  stan- 
dard of  practical  piety." 

The  Dew  of  Hermon,  a  tract  on  Christian  union,  had  been 
lately  pubhshed.  He  could  not  but  observe  that  it  was 
widely  circulated  and  greatly  appreciated.  Thereupon  he 
gladly  ascribes  it  to  the  grace  of  God  that  he  was  enabled 
to  cast  this  contribution  into  the  Lord's  treasury. 

The  conclusion  of  this  tract,  suggested  by  his  own 
observation  at  the  sea-side  during  a  brief  residence  in  the 
family  of  Mr.  GiUespie,  may  be  here  represented  as  a 
specimen  of  the  manner  in  which  he  was  wont  to  trace 
the  parallels  between  nature  and  grace  : — 

"  We  end  as  we  began.  Heaven  is  the  abode  of  unity, 
and  when  the  spirit  of  unity  comes  into  a  soul  or  into  a 
church,  it  cometh  from  above.  The  Comforter  brings  it 
down.  Discord  is  of  the  earth,  or  from  beneath.  The 
divisions  of  Christians  sliow  that  there  is  still  much 
carnality  amongst  them.  The  more  carnal  a  Christian  is, 
the  more  sectarian  will  he  be  ;  and  the  more  spiritual  he 
is,  the  more  loving  and  forbearing  and  self- renouncing  are 
you  sure  to  find  liim.  And  it  is  with  Christian  communi- 
ties as  with  individual  Christians.  When  the  tide  is  out, 
you  may  have  noticed,  as  you  rambled  among  the  rocks, 
little  pools  with  little  fishes  in  them.  To  the  shrimp  in 
such  a  pool  his  foot- depth  of  salt  water  is  all  the  ocean  for 
the  time  being;.     He  has  no  deaUncjs  with  his  neighbour 


CHRISTIAN  UNION.  247 

shrimp  iu  the  adjacent  pool,  though  it  may  be  only  a  few 
inches  of  sand  that  divide  them.  But  when  the  rising 
ocean  begins  to  lip  over  the  margin  of  his  lurking-place, 
one  pool  joins  another,  their  various  tenants  meet,  and 
by-and-bye,  in  place  of  their  little  patch  of  standing  water, 
they  have  the  ocean's  boundless  fields  to  roam  in.  When 
the  tide  is  out — when  religion  is  low — the  faithful  are  to 
be  found  insulated,  here  a  few  and  there  a  few,  in  the  little 
standing  pools  that  stud  the  beach,  having  no  dealings 
with  their  neighbours  of  the  adjoining  pools,  calling  them 
Samaritans,  and  fancying  that  their  own  little  communion 
includes  all  that  are  precious  in  God's  sight.  They  forget 
for  a  time  that  there  is  a  vast  and  expansive  ocean  rising 
— every  ripple,  every  reflux,  brings  it  nearer — a  mightier 
communion,  even  the  communion  of  saints,  which  is  to 
engulf  all  minor  considerations,  and  to  enable  the  fishes 
of  all  pools,  the  Christians,  the  Christ-lovers  of  all  deno- 
minations, to  come  together.  When,  like  a  flood,  the  Spirit 
flows  into  the  churches,  church  will  join  to  church,  and 
saint  will  join  to  saint,  and  all  will  rejoice  to  find  that  if 
their  little  pools  have  perished  it  is  not  by  the  scorching 
summer's  drought,  nor  the  casting  in  of  earthly  rubbish, 
but  by  the  influx  of  that  boundless  sea  whose  glad  waters 
touch  eternity,  and  in  whose  ample  depths  the  saints  in 
heaven  as  well  as  the  saints  on  earth  have  room  enough 
to  range.  Yes,  our  churches  are  the  standing  pools  along 
the  beach,  with  just  enough  of  their  peculiar  element  to 
keep  the  few  inmates  living  during  this  ebb-tide  period  of 
the  church's  history.  But  they  form  a  very  little  fellowship, 
the  largest  is  but  little ;  yet  is  there  steadily  flowing  in  a 


248  CHRISTIAN  UNION. 

tide  of  universal  life  and  love,  which,  as  it  lips  in  over  the 
margin  of  the  little  pool,  will  stir  its  inhabitants  with  an 
unwonted  vivacity,  and  then  let  them  loose  in  the  large 
range  of  the  Spirit's  own  communion,  Happy  church ! 
furthest  down  upon  the  strand  !  nearest  the  rising  ocean's 
edge  !  Happy  clnirch !  whose  sectarianism  shall  fir:;t  be 
swept  away  in  this  inundation  of  love  and  joy ! — whose 
communion  shall  first  break  forth  into  that  purest  and 
hoKest,  and  yet  most  comprehensive  of  all  communions — 
the  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost !  Would  to  God  that 
church  were  ours  I" 

It  is  well  worthy  of  notice  too,  in  connexion  with  the 
last  extract  from  his  journal,  that  after  enumerating  with 
great  exactness  the  privileges  he  had  enjoyed,  the  talents 
with  which  he  had  been  intrusted,  the  resolution  regarding 
duty  which  results  from  the  survey,  is  to  commend  Christ 
not  by  his  books,  but  by  his  life.  Literary  work  is  viewed 
as  a  secondary  matter ;  the  direct  aim  is  a  higher  and 
holier  walk.  In  this  matter  the  promise,  "  Seek,  and  ye 
shall  find,"  was  fulfilled  in  his  experience.  That  which  he 
ardently  sought  he  did  in  some  good  measure  attain.  In 
his  walk  and  conversation  many  read  to  their  own  profit, 
an  epistle  of  Jesus  Christ. 

It  may  also  be  observed  from  this  portion  of  his  experi- 
ence, for  the  reproof  of  a  presumptuous  indolence,  that  the 
habitual  hopefulness  and  happiness  that  were  exhibited 
in  his  character,  and  which  seemed  to  flow  naturally  as 
a  feature  ol  his  constitution,  were  graces  which  he  gravely 
judged  necessary  in  the  Christian  life — which,  accordingly, 
he  strove  and  prayed  for,  and  so  obtained. 


THE  SYNOD.  249 

"April  22,  1844.— On  Monday  last  set  out  to  attend 
our  Synod  at  Berwick.  On  the  railway  employed  with 
E.  M'Cheyne's  Sermons,  Brainerd's  Diary,  and  John  xiv. 
A  happy  day. 

"  The  Synod  elected  Dr.  James  Buchanan  their  Professor 
of  Divinity,  and  sent  Mr,  W.  Hamilton  and  me  to  Edin- 
burgh to  wait  on  him  and  solicit  his  acceptance.  That 
day,  Wednesday,  I  was  very  ill,  suffering  much  pain  in 
back  and  left  side,  so  glad  to  get  away.  Found  Dr.  B. 
was  at  Paisley.  Followed  him,  and  found  that  he  had 
gone  back  to  Edinburgh.  Saw  him  on  Friday,  and  satis- 
factory interview. 

"  Beached  Birmingham  at  midnight  of  Saturday,  stayed 
there  all  Sabbath.     Heard  Mr.  Lorimer." 

«' WiLLENHALL,  Juhj  4,  1844. 

"  My  dear  William, —  ...  I  very  much  fear  lest  this 
sort  of  life  put  an  end  to  epistolary  correspondence.  Spend- 
ing the  last  two  days,  and  sometimes  the  last  three  days 
of  the  week  at  Willenhall,  saves  a  good  deal  of  uninter- 
rupted time ;  and  I  find  the  leisurely  dinner-hour  and  the 
quiet  evening  walk,  and  Mrs.  Moore's  conversation  and 
the  children's  company,  a  restorative  to  mind  and  body. 
But  as  study  in  town  is  more  and  more  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, the  time  I  am  in  this  parlour  is  all  spent  in  writing 
the  sermon  and  lecture,  especially  the  last,  I  have  such 
delight  in  the  Eomans,  and  I  much  hope  that  these  lec- 
tures may  be  influential,  not  merely  on  the  theological 
views,  but  the  spiritual  position  of  many  of  the  hearers, 
that  thouQ-h  I  could  set  a  whole  week  to  meditate  one 


250  LITERARY  EMPLOYMENTS. 

lecture,  I  would  not  think  it  too  long.  I  am  now  at  the 
tenth  chapter,  and  hope  to  finish  the  eleventh,  and  so  the 
doctrinal  portion  of  the  epistle,  on  or  before  the  Com- 
munion Sabbath.  To  publish  these  lectures,  as  I  have 
sometimes  been  asked  to  do,  would  be  a  very  useless 
undertaking.  But  during  some  autumn  holiday  I  may 
read  them  over,  and  mark  the  most  interesting  passages, 
and  put  them  together  in  a  connected  form.  '  The  righte- 
ousness of  God'  has,  I  think,  been  put  more  palpably,  I 
hope  more  scripturally,  than  I  remember  reading  in  any 
book.  Besides,  I  have  many  occasional  things  to  write. 
One  week  lately,  besides  Sabbath  preparation,  I  wrote  the 
pastoral  letter  of  our  English  Synod,  a  short  circular  for 
our  Board  of  Missions,  a  review  of  E.  M'Cheyne  for  the 
Presbyterian  Magazine,  and  an  article  for  the  Free  Church 
Magazine.  The  materials  for  the  last  two  were  mostly 
ready  beforehand,  but  the  revision  and  re-Mo-iting  took 
nearly  as  much  pains  as  fresh  composition.  This  sort  of 
\mting  incapacitates  me  for  that  delightful  old-fashioned 
sort  of  letter  which  contained  a  journal  of  news  and  a 
budget  of  critical  analecta,  and  a  specimen  of  the  whole 
man." 

At  the  close  of  this  letter  he  has  touched  a  point  in 
which  both  the  compiler  and  the  readers  of  his  biography 
have  a  deep  interest.  He  casts  a  longing,  lingering  look 
after  "the  old-fashioned  sort  of  letter"  as  a  thing  that 
must  in  tlie  circumstances  of  modern  society  be  left 
behind.  As  the  change  to  which  he  alludes  has  a  general 
bearing  on  the  age,  as  well  as  a  particular  application  to 


EFFECTS  OF  CHEAP  POSTAGE.        251 

his  own  experience,  it  will  be  of  use  to  note  its  causes 
and  consequences. 

From  the  date  of  his  removal  to  London,  his  letters  are 
not  to  so  great  an  extent  available  for  the  elucidation  of 
his  character  and  work.  This  is  owing  partly  to  causes 
that  are  public  and  *  common,  partly  to  causes  that  are 
private  and  peculiar  to  himself.  The  change  which  took 
place  about  that  period  in  the  system  of  the  Post- office, 
while  it  conferred,  socially  and  commercially,  an  incal- 
culable boon  on  the  community,  acted,  I  am  persuaded, 
very  injuriously  on  the  character  of  our  correspondence  as 
to  its  weight  and  permanent  value.  At  a  time  when  you 
could  not  transmit  a  letter  from  one  part  of  the  country 
to  another  without  paying  from  sixpence  to  a  shilling  of 
postage,  people  of  limited  income  did  not  despatch  one 
until  a  pressing  necessity  arose  :  and  when  they  did  make 
up  their  minds  to  the  sacrifice,  they  naturally  desired  to 
obtain  a  good  pennyworth,  and  so  put  a  great  deal  of 
matter  into  one  epistle.  After  it  became  possible  to  send 
a  letter  to  any  part  of  the  United  Kingdom  for  a  penny, 
people  wrote  on  less  urgent  business,  and,  as  they  could 
send  another  to-morrow,  did  not  exert  themselves  to 
freight  fully  the  present  messenger  with  the  compressed 
essence  of  all  their  best  ideas.  Thus  the  cheapening  of 
the  postage  exercised  an  evil  influence  on  the  value  of 
letters  as  the  permanent  record  of  contemporary  history 
and  thought. 

In  our  case  this  influence  was  greatly  increased  by  the 
idiosyncrasies  of  the  individual.  A  vast  quantity  of  mis- 
cellaneous business  was  thrown   upon  his   hands.      He 


252  A  MULTITUDE  OF  LETTERS. 

undertook  heroically  all  that  by  great  exertion  and  great 
facility  he  was  able  to  perform.  Thus  placed  under  high- 
pressure,  he  threw  off  letters  from  week  to  week,  and  from 
year  to  year,  in  very  great  quantities.  He  seemed  indeed 
to  shed  them  as  trees  shed  their  leaves  in  autumn,  but  the 
necessary  consequence  was  that  comparatively  few  traces 
of  his  genius  appear  in  the  letters  of  those  busy  years. 
They  bear  marks,  not  indeed  of  hurry — for  all  are  clearly 
legible  and  easily  understood — but  of  pressm-e.  Each 
missive  tells  its  tale  in  the  shortest  space,  and  then  sternly 
closes,  to  make  room  for  the  next.  You  seldom  see  any 
symptom  of  leisure  or  repose.  There  is  never  the  delicious 
outpouring  of  a  gifted  mind  wlio  has  set  himseK  to  warble 
out  his  thoughts  to  you,  with  nothing  else  in  hand  or  m 
view.  His  chosen  sphere  was  a  life  of  activity ;  from  that 
choice  the  Church  and  the  country  have  reaped  substantial 
benefit ;  but  the  readers  of  his  memoir  need  not  expect  to 
find  in  his  private  letters  the  best  strength  and  beauty  of 
his  mind.  It  has  been  the  duty  of  the  biographer  to  read 
a  great  multitude  of  James  Hamilton's  letters,  each  occu- 
pied wiLh  some  plain  practical  work  of  benevolence,  which 
do  not  claim,  and  would  not  justify,  insertion  in  a  public 
and  permanent  record.  The  impression  left  by  the  perusal 
of  the  mass  enhances  the  estimate  of  the  writer's  life,  as  a 
talent  devoted  with  singular  energy  to  the  service  of  God 
and  the  good  of  man ;  but  the  individual  letters,  in  that 
elegant  and  well- remembered  handwriting,  must  for  the 
most  part  be  allowed,  like  the  leaves  of  autumn,  to  drop 
undistinguished  into  the  dust. 


DIFFICULTY  OF  OBTAINING  MINISTERS.         253 

"  WiLLENHALL,  Sept.  6,  1844. 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Hamilton, — Immediately  on  reeeiving 
yours  to-day,  I  wrote  a  long  letter  to  Dr.  Hetherington, 
putting  the  case  for  London  Wall  as  strongly  as  I  could, 
and  enclosed  it  to  Mr.  Marshall,  marking  it  '  Private — to 
be  forwarded.'  I  have  seldom  been  more  surprised  or  dis- 
mayed at  any  tiling  than  at  the  threatened  oj)position  to 
Mr.  Mcolson's  translation.  It  is  virtually  sayirg  that  no 
minister,  however  inconspicuous  his  position,  and  however 
httle  the  Church  may  need  his  services  ecclesiastically,  can 
be  spared  toEnghsh  Presbyterianism.  I  told  Dr.  Hether- 
iugton  that  so  disheartened  were  the  London  Wall  people 
by  the  elopement  of  two  successive  ministers,  and  by  the 
frustration  hitherto  of  their  efforts  to  obtain  a  pastor,  that 
I  was  not  sm^e  but  that  the  Free  Church  Presbytery  of  St. 
Andrews  might  have  the  power  of  shutting  up  the  oldest 
Presbyterian  Church  in  London." 

TO  HIS  SISTER. 

"WiLLENHALL,   NoV.  9,   1844. 

"  My  dear  Jeanie, —  .  .  .  Our  Communion  was  a  de- 
lightful one.  The  text  was  out  of  William's  favourite 
book,  the  Song,  v.  16,  'This  is  my  Beloved,  and  my 
Priend.'  Some  careless  hearers  were  much  impressed, 
and  I  heard  of  one  young  man  who,  I  hope,  was  truly 
awakened.  He  was  an  infidel,  but  brought  out  that  morn- 
ing by  a  friend,  and  so  deeply  affected  that  he  stayed  aU  the 
time,  and  on  Monday  evening  took  a  seat  for  himseK.  I 
believe  he  had  not  been  in  church  for  years.  .  .  . 

"J.  H." 


2 5 J:  ORIGIN  OF  "life  IN  EARNEST."' 

"  "WiLLENHALL,  Dec.  7,  1844. 

"  My  dear  Jane, —  ...  I  have  revised  for  separate 
publication  the  Introductory  Lecture.  The  misprintings 
of  the  Witness,  rather  than  the  fault  of  Mr.  Jas.  Stewart, 
the  reporter,  made  this  desirable,  though  there  had  been 
no  other  reason.  Mrs.  Moore  showed  me  the  other  day 
two  sermons  in  a  Wesley  an  newspaper,  purporting  to  be 
notes  of  two  discourses  of  mine.  The  errors  w^ere  so  thick- 
set, so  ludicrous  and  nonsensical,  that  I  could  not  get 
through  a  column  ;  but  the  report,  such  as  it  is,  confirmed 
my  resolution  to  print  six  lectures  on  Eom.  xii.  11,  of 
which  these  formed  two.  They  will  likely  come  out  in 
a  small  18mo,  and  I  mean  to  send  a  copy  to  each  family 
of  the  congregation  as  a  New- Year's  gift.     .     .     . 

"J.  H." 

The  lecture  was  introductory  to  a  course  on  pastoral 
theology  to  the  students  of  the  English  Presbyterian 
College.  Loyally  he  had  undertaken,  in  addition  to  his 
other  labours,  the  temporary  charge  of  this  class,  until  the 
Church  should  succeed  in  obtaining  a  permanent  pro- 
fessor. 

The  reader  will  observe  with  interest  in  this  brief  letter 
the  natural  history  of  Life  in  Earnest,  one  of  the  most 
popular  and  most  useful  of  his  publications.  The  sub- 
stance of  that  book  had  been  addressed  to  his  own  con- 
gregation in  six  lectures,  in  a  course  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
Eomans.  Two  of  these  inadequately  reported  had  ap- 
peared without  his  knowledge  or  sanction  in  a  religious 
newspaper.     The  blunders  grated  so  harshly  on  his  senses 


TALE  OF  WOEK.  255 

that  he  determined,  in  self-defence,  to  pubHsh  the  whole 
six.  To  protect  himseK  against  the  incorrect  representa- 
tion was  of  course  not  the  real  reason,  but  became  the 
incidental  occasion  of  the  pubhcation.  The  Church  in  this 
case  has  cause  to  rejoice  over  the  blunders  of  an  unskilful 
reporter,  for  the  authorized  version  has  done  noble  service 
in  the  work  of  the  kingdom  both  at  home  and  in  America. 
The  circulation  was  very  great,  and  many  notices  of  its 
usefulness  occur  in  the  course  of  his  correspondence. 

"January  1845. — During  the  year  1844  I  preached  124 
times,  of  which,  I  think,  57  occasions  were  not  in  K(gent 
Square,  besides  sj)eaking  at  6  public  meetings  (Exeter  Hall 
and  Manchester),  and  sundry  breakfasts  and  soirees. 

Preached   124  times. 

Paid  492  visits. 

Eeceived  1112  visitors. 

Wrote        855  letters. 

Studied    1254  hours. 

Eead  21  volumes,  or  9010  pages. 
Attended  Synod,  Commission  of  Synod,  19  Presbyteries, 
119  miscellaneous  meetings  and  committees,  etc.,  20  kirk 
sessions,  78  meetings  connected  with  congregation. 

"  Journeys. — To  Edinburgh  by  Berwick  ;  to  Bristol ;  to 
Manchester  ;  thrice  to  Brighton ;  to  Ipswich,  besides  plea- 
sure trips  to  Byde,  through  Kent,  to  Brighton. 

"  Published. — Sermon  on  Thankfulness  ;  sermon  in 
pulpit ;  sermon  in  Free  Church  pulpit ;  Eeview  of  K. 
M'Cheyne  in  Presbyterian  Revievj  ;  two  papers  on  Sacred 
Poets  in.  Free  Church  Magazine ;  Life  in  Earnest;  Lec- 
ture Introductory  to  Pastoral  Theology  ;  besides  writijag  a 


256  "  LIFE  IN  EARNEST." 

Eeport  on  Free  Cliurch  Mission  Schemes,  a  circular  on 
India  Missions,  a  Pastoral  Letter  for  our  Synod,  a  circular 
for  Eegent  Square  on  first  day  of  year,  a  E^ply  to  John 
Munro  in  Patriot ;  Pastoral  Letter  to  Abernyte  (not 
printed)." 

One  of  his  projects,  long  entertained  though  never 
executed,  was  a  companion  to  Life  in  Earnest,  to  consist 
of  a  series  of  discourses  on  the  text  "  Whatsoever  things 
are  true,  whatsoever  things  are  honest,"  etc.,  Phil.  iv.  8, 
and  entitled  The  Christian  Gentleman.  He  frequently 
spoke  of  it  with  interest.  One  of  its  chief  themes  would 
have  been  "  consideration  for  others,"  which  he  reckoned  a 
grace  of  the  Spirit  as  well  as  a  mark  of  politeness. 

The  earliest  of  all  the  congratulations  on  the  publica- 
tion of  Life  in  Earnest,  is  the  subjoined  note  from  a 
naturalist,  then  employed  in  the  British  Museum,  Mr. 
Adam  White : — 

"11  Southampton  E.ow,  Bloomsbury, 
January  3,  1 845. 

"  ]\Iy  dear  and  ]\iuch  respected  Sir,— Your  little  but 
weighty  volume  was  handed  to  me  last  night  at  ten,  and 
as  soon  as  I  was  up  this  morning  I  galloped  over  its  pages, 
which  were  famihar — familiar  quite  to  my  memory. 
Your  admirable  address  is  the  only  part  I  have  read 
through  as  yet,  because  it  is  new. 

"  As  a  young  professing  Christian  man,  and  member  of 
a  Christian  church,  allow  me  to  thank  you  for  publishing 
so  admirable  a  series  of  tractates,  and  to  express  my  hope 
that  the  Spirit  from  above  may  descend  like  the  dew  upon 
Hermon,  and  revive  all  deadness  in  the  work  given  your 


NATURAL  HISTORY  REMINISCENCES.  257 

congregation  to  do,  be  it  spiritual,  charitable,  or  temporal. 
As  a  young  naturalist,  allow  me  to  congratulate  you  on 
the  extreme  aptness  and  accuracy  of  your  artless  natural 
history  illustrations, — illustrations,  however,  I  assure  you, 
when  I  heard  them,  which  sent  me,  even  during  your  sermon, 
to  the  Braid  Hills  and  Salisbury  Crags  after  the  Scahiosa 
succisa,  and  it  was  all  I  could  do  to  keep  myself  from 
wandering  to  the  shore  of  Arran,  or  the  beach  of  the 
Tiggat  Whins,' — spots  where,  with  the  happy  Lands- 
borough  family,  or  my  brother  and  sisters,  I  used  to  watch 
or  pick  up  the  lovely  Adinice,  and  many  a  Sertularia, 
and  rock- encrusting  Lejjraria;  and,  to  make  a  long  story 
short,  permit  me,  my  dear  James  Hamilton, — excuse  the 
famiharity  of  one  who  has  herbarized,  and  naturahsts  (like 
anglers  in  rare  old  Walton's  days)  ought  to  be  familiar, — 
permit  me,  I  say,  in  the  tliird  and  last  place,  to  thank  you 
for  the  presentation  copy,  which,  as  a  lover  of  the  curious, 
and  a  little  bit  of  biblomaniasm,  or  rather  authorism,  into 
the  bargain,  I  do  most  highly  value.  I  heard  from  the 
Bard  of  Eydal  Mount  more  than  a  week  ago,  and  will, 
if  spared,  bring  up  his  note  on  IMonday,  when  I  leave 
the  Atheneeum.  I  wish  you  had  mentioned  Jay's  Life  of 
Cornelius  Winter,  a  book  which,  thanks  to  your  uncle,  my 
dearest  wife  has  got  a  copy  of.  Of  course  you  know  it. 
May  God  long  spare  you  in  life,  health,  and  ever  increas- 
ing ability  to  proclaim  His  unspeakable  and  important 
gift  to  men,  is  the  prayer  of  yours,  most  sincerely  and 
respectfully, 

"  Adam  White." 


258  HIS  brother's  prospects. 

''Jan.  10,  1845. 

"  My  deae  William, — It  is  a  sad  thing  that  I  should 
so  seldom  take  the  pen  to  write  you  a  full  and  dehberate 
letter.  Though  stronger  than  I  have  been  for  years,  I  am 
busier  than  I  ever  was  ;  and  though  less  fettered  by  occu- 
pations than  I  would  once  have  been,  I  think  that  I  am 
in  a  better  state  than  ever  to  cnpy  a  little  leisure.  It 
would  be  a  happy  thing  for  us  if  we  had  the  same  buoyant 
look  forward  to  the  'rest  which  remaineth,'  which  we 
sometimes  have  to  an  earthly  holiday.  There  is  one  sub- 
ject on  which  I  have  never  written,  not  being  ofiicially 
apprised  of  it,  but  on  which,  now  that  I  am  so  far  in 
possession  of  it,  I  do  not  think  it  brotherly  to  withhold  the 
congratulations  which  I  really  feel.  I  have  not  a  suffi- 
ciently distinguishing  recollection  of  the  lady,  who  must 
have  been  very  young  when  I  spent  a  week  divided  betwixt 
botany  and  my  bed  at  the  manse  of  Arrochar  seven  summers 
ago, — but  at  the  time  I  speak  of  there  was  enough  beneath 
that  roof  to  make  it  a  hallowed,  loving,  and  happy  home. 
And  to  all  that  was  sprightly  and  affectionate  tliere,  I  have 
no  doubt  that  Christina  contributed  her  ample  quota, 
though  my  misguided  eye,  in  search  of  Alpine  plants, 
overlooked  a  fairer  flower.  From  your  never  having 
written  on  the  subject,  which  must  have  been  so  often  on 
your  mind  when  meaner  topics  employed  your  pen,  I 
suppose  you  were  loath  to  submit  it  to  my  phlegmatic  and 
unsympathizing  judgment.  If  so,  you  quite  miscalcu- 
lated. I  agree  with  Arnot,  in  thinking  that  marriage  is 
one  of  the  works  of  God  which  still  remains  very  good ; 
and  tliough  your  engagement  was  an  early  one,  I  agree 


STONEHOUSE  MANSE.  259 

with  Campbell,  that  there  are  '  pleasures '  in  '  hope.'  .  .  . 
Towards  Chiistiua  and  all  the  rest  I  feel  that  they  are 
the  children  of  our  father's  bosom-friend, — the  daughters 
of  that  man  of  God  whose  melodious  voice  and  beaming 
countenance  are  associated  with  each  winter  sacrament  at 
Strathblane,  and  our  one  Eoxburgh  communion.  I  suppose 
you  will  not  delay  the  consummation  long  beyond  the 
house-heating  of  the  new  manse.  Happy  as  X  sua,  having 
nearly  all  that  the  heart  could  wish  (with,  however, 
neither  a  wife  nor  the  promise  of  one),  I  am  sensibly  the 
happier  for  the  prospect  of  your  joy.  I  hope  that  it  will 
be  for  the  good  of  Stonehouse,  as  well  as  of  yourselves.  I 
would  have  sent  the  £50  for  your  manse  by  this  post, 
but  I  lent  the  sum  to  a  friend  six  months  as;o,  to  be 
repaid  at  Christmas.  He  has  asked  a  brief  delay.  I  hope 
it  will  be  brief.  I  have  as  much  beside  me,  and  something 
more,  but  I  am  afraid  to  part  with  it  till  I  get  my  next 
quarter's  stipend,  when  I  shall  have  enough  and  to  sjDare. 
I  have  given  away  nearly  £300  in  these  two  years,  and 
would  have  been  very  glad  to  have  kept  a  little  more  of 
it  for  Stonehouse  manse.  J.  H." 

"London,  Juhj  7,  1845. 
"My  deak  Mamma, —  .  .  .  Yesterday  I  finished  the 
lectures  on  the  Eomans.  It  so  happened  that  there  was 
in  church  a  gentleman  who  had  received  his  first  religious 
impressions  whilst  reading  Life  in  Earnest  on  the  Medi- 
terranean Sea.  It  was  very  striking  that  he  should  amve 
just  in  time  to  hear  the  last  of  the  series.  He  is  a  medical 
man.   ...  J.  H " 


260  EEVIEW  OF  THE  PAST. 

«'  WiLLENHALL,  Nov.  27,  1  845. 

"  My  dear  Mamma, — Last  night  I  lay  from  three  o'clock 
till  time  for  rising  with  many  thoughts  passing  through 
my  mind ;  and  when  you  look  to  the  date  of  this,  you  will 
not  wonder  that  among  these  thoughts  you  should  have 
been  particularly  present.  The  night  before  my  eighth 
birthday  I  could  scarcely  sleep  in  the  prospect  of  next 
morning  beginning  Latin, — a  mysterious  novelty,  for  I  had 
no  notion  how  a  person  could  ever  learn  another  language 
than  his  own.  Twenty-three  years  have  passed  since 
then,  sixteen  of  them  in  acquiring  the  said  Latin  and 
similar  branches  of  knowledge,  and  seven  of  them  in  this 
great  work  of  the  ministry.  They  have  been,  on  the  whole, 
very  happy  years,  particularly  the  last  four  at  Glasgow 
College,  and  these  last  seven.  Perhaps,  on  the  whole, 
nobody  has  more  to  be  thankful  for  than  I  at  this  moment 
have — health  (for  my  cold,  I  hope,  is  gone)—  abundance 
of  friends — a  competent  income — some  prospects  which 
are  very  pleasant — a  ministry  with  boundless  opportunities, 
and  the  hope  that  in  some  respects  it  has  already  been 
useful — yourselves — Andrew  so  much  happier  this  winter 
and  you  considerably  better.  And  I  cannot  but  remember 
that  for  the  countless  mercies  of  the  present  and  the  past, 
I  am,  next  to  the  Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift,  in- 
debted to  you.  I  know  that  I  was  often  in  danger  when 
too  young  to  know  what  danger  is,  and  in  later  years  my 
only  grief  has  been  that  in  caring  for  us,  as  it  now  turns 
out,  you  have  been  too  forgetful  of  yourself.  But  I  quite 
believe  that  there  are  better  things  than  bodily  health 
wdiich  I  ov/e  to  a  mother's  love  and  a  mother's  care.     I 


ANDEEW  BONAR  CALLED  TO  LONDON".  261 

know  it,  and  I  sometimes  feel  it,  tliourjli  even  now  I  feel 
somewhat  shy  to  say  it.  Though  there  is  now  another 
who  has  filled  that  place  in  my  heart  which  till  lately  was 
vacant,  I  feel  that  I  do  not  love  my  kind,  and  wise,  and 
tender  mother  less,  now  that  I  am  thirty-one,  than  I  did 
when  I  was  one-and-twenty,  or  half  the  age.  J.  H." 

Another  unsuccessful  effort  to  obtain  an  experienced 
minister  from  Scotland  for  a  vacant  church  in  London  :— 

"Abernyte,  Dec.  4,  1S45. 

"  My  deae  Mr.  Hamilton, — Before  this  you  will  likely 
have  heard  the  frustration  of  our  embassy.  We  all  three 
stated  the  case  as  strongly  as  we  could.  There  were 
nearly  100  of  the  Collace  people  there,  with  Mr.  ISTairne 
at  their  head.  The  speeches  of  a  few  of  the  country 
people  were  very  touching,  though,  as  Mr.  ISTairne  said,  it 
was  just  as  possible  to  move  a  mountain  as  a  London  de- 
putation. Mr.  Bonar,  when  called  upon,  said  that  his 
whole  feeling  at  first  was  to  go  to  London,  but  that  pray- 
erful deliberation  had  altered  his  mind.  Good  was  still 
doing  at  Collace,  and  he  was  not  at  liberty  to  leave  it.  As 
soon  as  the  Lord's  work  there  stood  still,  he  would  be  glad 
to  get  away.  He  stated  other  reasons,  and  I  am  well 
aware  that  it  was  neither  dislike  to  London  nor  the  im- 
portunities of  his  people  that  prevailed  with  him,  but  just 
the  solemn  conviction  that  he  ought  not  to  quit  his  charge 
whilst  his  ministry  continues  to  be  so  evidently  owned  by 
God.  The  Presbytery  showed  that  they  were  mainly 
moved  by   affection  for  Mr.   Bonar,   and   anxiety  about 


262  MK.  BONAR  EEMAINS  AT  COLLAGE. 

their  local  interests.  I  am  disappointed  in  a  deeply 
cherished  hope,  but  I  feel  that  I  love  Andrew  Bonar  more 
than  ever.  I  scarcely  expect  myself  to  see  him  in  London, 
but  should  he,  as  from  his  greater  strength  is  likely,  out- 
live me,  there  is  no  one  I  can  at  present  think  of  whom  T 
should  like  so  well  to  enter  into  my  labours.  In  the  way 
of  early  rising  and  travelling,  I  have  sometimes  felt  tired, 
but  am  otherwise  well.  I  was  exceedingly  delighted 
with  Hawick  congregation, — 1200  intelligent  and  manly- 
looking  hearers." 

"Dec.  12,  1845. — This  visit  to  Scotland  has  taken  some 
worldly  cares  off  my  mind.  Additional  trustees  ap- 
pointed, and  the  little  affairs  of  the  family  seen  after. 
It  was  very  delightful  to  find  William's  full  church  and 
his  affectionate  auditory,  and  pleasant  to  see  himself  and 
Christina  in  their  nice  new  manse. 

"  Employed  two  days  looking  over  and  preparing  for  the 
press  a  few  lectures  on  prayer.  This,  when  done,  will  be 
another  thing  off  my  mind. 

"  Failed  in  our  errand,  so  far  as  getting  A.  Bonar  to  Lon- 
don. Could  have  departed  from  this  world  more  lightened 
had  he  been  here.  He  wished  to  come,  but  felt  it  his 
duty  to  remain.  Having  kept  no  record  of  the  employ- 
ments of  this  year,  I  can  make  no  summary.  My  impression 
is  that  it  was  as  busy  as  any,  with  fewer  sermons  away 
from  home. 

"  Besides  editing  the  first  three  numbers  of  Presbyterian 
Messenger,  I  printed  Life  of  Bunyan,  prefixed  to  Nelson's 
edition,  and  Mount  of  Olives." 


WORK  PROJECTED.  263 

The  Mount  of  Olives,  as  a  title  of  this  volume,  is  not 
strictly  descriptive  :  it  is  a  name  of  convenience,  taken 
from  the  subject  of  the  first  lecture.  The  nature  of  the 
little  treatise  is  indicated  in  the  secondary  title.  Lectures 
on  Prayer.  If  it  is  less  lively  tlian  its  predecessor,  it 
exhibits,  as  befits  its  theme,  more  of  tenderness  and 
solemnity.  It  has  been  received  in  all  branches  of  the 
Evangelical  Church  with  great  favour,  and  has  been  the 
instrument  of  much  good.-^ 

"Hastings,  May  17,  1846. 

"  Perhaps  it  is  only  a  cunning  pretext  for  wishing  to  get 
well,  but  there  is  a  scheme  much  in  my  head,  and  which, 
could  I  execute,  I  should  feel  that  I  had  lived  less  in  vain. 
It  is  a  series,  three  or  four  small  volumes,  as  plain,  as 
popular,  and  as  interesting  as  I  could  make  them,  on  the 
most  urgent  topics. 

"  1.  On  the  Evidences,  making  the  proof  palpable  to  the 
feeblest  understanding,  and  conclusive  (by  the  blessing  of 
God)  to  the  most  faltering  judgment,  and  above  all,  land- 
ing the  reader  not  on  the  confines  of  Christianity,  but  in 
the  very  heart  of  the  gospel. 

"  2.  The  Gospel,  so  simply  stated  that  no  earnest  reader 
but  should  find  himself  in  intelligent  possession  of  the 
great  '  open  secret.' 

"  3.  Developed  Christianity.  The  pecuKarities  of  the 
Christian  Life.  Its  duties,  privileges,  trials.  Instances 
— E.  M'Cheyne,"  etc. 

1  Both  tlie  Mount  of  Olives  and   Life  in  Earnest  are  contained  in  the 
first  volume  of  his  Collected  Works. 


264  RESIDENCE  AT  EMS. 

Here  again  he  ai)pears  in  cliaracter ;  he  accomplished 
much,  but  he  purposed  more.  The  projects  of  his  busy 
mind  seemed  like  the  blossom  of  some  trees, — they  came  in 
myriads,  while,  from  the  limited  capacity  of  the  agent, 
only  a  few  of  them  developed  into  actual  fruit.  If  life 
and  leisure  had  been  granted  to  fill  up  the  scheme  here 
sketched,  a  rich,  legacy  would  have  been  left  to  the 
Church  of  Christ.  The  evidences,  the  nature,  and  the 
fruits  of  the  gospel,  exhibited  and  enforced  by  the  genius 
and  learning  and  faith  of  James  Hamilton,  might  have 
been  of  eminent  service  to  the  generation  followino;.  But 
the  matter  was  ordered  otherwise.  The  blossominsj  desire 
was  fragrant,  but  the  winter  came  before  it  had  developed 
into  fruit. 

This  season  a  prolonged  illness  rendered  necessary  a 
prolonged  rest.  By  medical  advice  he  travelled  for  some 
time  on  the  Continent,  and  used  the  waters  of  a  German 
bath.  This  was  indeed  with  him  the  normal  condition. 
Life  came  in  throbs  of  excessive  exertion,  followed  by 
pauses  of  enforced  repose. 

TO  HIS  SISTER. 

"Ems,  pres  Coblentz,  Juhj  10,  1846. 
"  We  are  now  in  the  regular  routine  of  a  German  Spa. 
The  system  of  it  is  as  uniform  as  a  clock.  Get  up  at 
half-past  five.  Proceed  to  the  Wells,  and  drink,  at  ten 
minutes'  intervals,  two  or  three  tumblers  of  the  waters. 
These  are  hot,  containing  some  carbonic  acid  and  a  few 
salts.  Pace  about  till  eight,  when  it  is  presumed  that  the 
last  of  the  tumblers  is  digested ;  then  breakfast.     I  should 


OCCUPATIONS  AT  EMS.  265 

have  noted  that  the  said  wells  are  a  scene  of  the  utmost 
invalid  gaiety — sipping  the  Kessel  to  the  music  of  a 
splendid  Bohemian  band  ;  promenadiug  in  colonnades  and 
gardens  among  German  Grafs  and  Austrian  Princesses — 
with  Prussian  and  Pohsh  counts  furnished  with  moustaches 
much  resembling  the  tusks  of  the  wabus  ;    the  sort  of 

scene  which  turned    the  heads  of  the   poor  .      In 

one  respect  this  spot  is  a  pleasant  exception  to  Germany. 
There  is  hardly  any  smoking,  and  my  aromatic  associations 
with  the  Ehine  from  Cologne  to  Mannheim  are  all  of 
tobacco.  Well,  after  breakfast  read  a  little — the  Times, 
and  our  own  books.  Then  climb  a  little  bit  of  a  woody  hill, 
and  read  Hewitt's  Germany,  to  get  a  little  acquainted  with 
the  country  we  are  in.  Then,  one  o'clock,  a  grand  tahh- 
dliotc,  with  nearly  200  of  a  congregation,  and  sometimes 
music  to  drown  the  clatter  of  the  dishes.  After  dinner, 
I  don't  know  what  we  do,  till  six  o'clock,  when  more 
water  ;  then  tea  and  bread  without  butter ;  and  bed  at  nine 
o'clock.  Having  added  that  water-drinkers  are  allowed 
no  fish,  no  fruit,  no  acid,  no  wine,  I  have  completed  the 
sketch  of  our  animal  existence  here.  The  waters  are  in 
themselves  so  nutritious  as  not  to  need  those  vulvar 
adjuncts,  and  it  is  amazing  how  jolly  some  of  our  tee- 
totallers have  grown." 

"Ems,  Germany,  Juhj  11,  1846. 
"  My  VEEY  DEAR  Brother, —  .  .  .  The  same  letter  brings 
word   of    uncle   Walker's    death,  and   the    extraordinary 
sickness  in  Stonehouse.     To  our  good  old  uncle  I  am  con- 
fident that  this  is  a  blessed  transition.     In  his  silent  way, 


266  EDUCATION  IN  GERMANY. 

he  was  continually  cultivating  a  conscience  void  of  offence 
toward  God  and  toward  man  ;  and  as  his  hope  was  on  the 
right  Foundation,  so  his  life  was  singularly  blameless.  I 
think  it  was  a  happiness  to  him  to  spend  his  old  age  at 
Spittal ;  and  his  whole  treatment  of  that  little  farm  was 
a  specimen  of  his  scrupulous  conscientiousness.  This  rapid 
removal  of  our  older  relatives  is  fast  leaving  us  in  the 
situation  of  those  who  must  naturally  go  next.  Nor  is  it 
likely  that  any  of  our  family  will  attain  the  veteran  years 
of  our  predecessors.  One  of  the  most  gratifying  things 
in  this  country  is  the  state  of  education.  Yesterday  Mr. 
H.  and  I  went  to  the  villaEje  school.  There  were  four 
school-rooms  :  one  for  boys  and  another  for  girls,  under 
ten  years  of  age  ;  a  third  for  boys,  and  a  fourth  for  girls, 
from  ten  to  fourteen,  all  taught  by  schoolmasters — 
Lutherans,  Catholics,  and  Jews  together.  The  school  fees 
are  Is.  4d.  a  year.  Every  child  from  six  to  fourteen  is 
compelled  to  attend  this  or  some  other  school,  under  a 
penalty  of  twopence  a  day,  which,  in  this  cheap  country, 
does  away  the  inducement  of  keeping  them  at  home  to 
work.  They  sing  in  parts  most  beautifully.  On  Sabbath 
morning  we  went  to  the  Lutheran  Church.  They  sang 
a  hymn,  twenty  minutes  long,  everybody  joining — the 
women  down- stairs,  the  men  in  the  gallery — music  which 
could  not  be  got  in  England.  And  what  made  the  con- 
trast more  striking,  was,  on  the  dismissal  of  the  German 
congregation,  the  English  assembled,  and  though  there 
were  120  of  them,  we  had  no  psalm  at  all;  nobody  could 
raise  a  tune." 


YARIETY  A  MENTAL  MEDICINE.  267 

"Ems,  pres  Coelentz,  July  13,  1846. 

"  My  dear  Andrew, —  .  .  .  The  announcement  of  your 
great  success  came  through  James's  letter,  whilst  we  were  at 
breakfast,  and  awakened  much  joy  and  hearty  felicitations. 
I  quite  expected  that  you  would  win  the  Italian  prize,  and 
therefore  am  the  more  gratified  at  your  getting  the  geo- 
logical. It  is  a  little  out  of  your  usual  line  of  things,  and 
confirms  my  impression  that  the  natural  sciences  are  more 
suited  to  your  talents  than  your  taste.  Few  things  have 
given  me  more  pleasure  than  the  prizes  you  won  this  year 
and  the  last.  They  are  a  solid  benefit,  and  I  trust  that 
hereafter  you  will  find  the  advantage  of  them.  I  am  not 
so  happy  but  that  the  account  you  give  of  your  frequent 
feelings  grieves  me  much.  I  do  not  think  that  it  is  excess 
of  vitality  that  gives  advantage  to  these  feelings.  Such 
gloom  and  depression  are  perhaps  more  natural  to  you 
than  they  would  be  to  less  pensive  and  wistful  minds,  but 
I  am  sure  if  you  had  evenly  health,  and  a  system  in  full 
tone,  you  woiild  more  easily  overcome  them.  If  not  ab- 
solutely neutralized  they  might  be  diluted,  and,  as  it  were, 
drowned  by  redundant  health  and  energy.  And  the  best 
use  you  could  make  of  this  holiday  would  be  to  rest  and 
ramble  a  good  deal ;  and  read,  I  think,  as  little  as  possible. 
Eefore  I  was  quite  grown  up,  I  was  the  victim  of  most 
dreary  and  foreboding  impressions.  It  was  no  one  rational 
cause  which  awakened  them — but  anything — rtiyself  was 
full  of  the  dreary  element,  and  any  subject  was  the  nucleus 
round  which  it  deposited  itself,  and  shaped  a  tangible 
grief.  But  as  my  constitution  gathered  strength,  and,  I 
think  I  may  add,  as  clearer  views  of  the  Divine  bene- 


268       EXAMPLES  OF  EXCESSIVE  SUSCEPTIBILITY. 

volence,  and  brigliter  hopes  broke  in,  those  feelings  passed 
away.  I  am  not  exempt  from  them  now,  but  they  do  not 
hurt  and  oppress  me,  and  blacken  the  face  of  things  as 
they  used  to  do.  I  anticipate  the  same  for  you,  although, 
from  my  own  analogy,  I  am  sure  you  do  not  anticipate  it 
for  yourself.  It  would  be  curious  if  we  could  ascertain 
the  comparative  number  of  cases  in  which  extreme  mental 
susceptibility  has  been  a  source  of  prevailing  and  pre- 
ponderating happiness  or  distress.  I  fear  the  gloomy  scale 
would  be  the  heaviest  after  you  have  put  in  Petrarch, 
Southey,  Ovid,  the  dark  years  of  Co^\^er,  Mrs.  Hemans, 
etc.  (just  now  I  am  reading  letters  written  with  Stygian 
water — Foster's.)  There  is,  doubtless,  a  constitutional  in- 
fusion which  nothing  can  utterly  expel,  but  many  things 
might  alleviate  ;  and  one  of  them  is  occupation  distinct 
from  that  line  of  tilings  in  which  the  fancy  is  most  disposed 
to  travel.  Geology  as  a  present  study,  and  pastoral  work 
as  a  future  calling,  will  exert  a  good  influence  on  a  mind 
like  yours.  But  I  must  stop,  otherwise  you  will  wish  for 
a  letter  of  facts.  The  tidings  of  Uncle  Walker's  death,  so 
soon  after  aunt  of  Langrig,  is  very  solemnizing.  These 
events  are  fast  altering  Stonehouse.  Give  my  warmest 
love  to  mamma.  The  next  (I  hope  early)  letter,  will,  I 
trust,  bring  cheering  accounts  of  her.  I  fear  I  va^ote  too 
querulously  to  Jane  ;  but  I  really  was  uneasy  and  unhappy 
at  being  so  long  without  hearing.  We  have  dehghtful 
weather,  and  are  getting  on  nicely. — Ever,  my  dear  Andrew, 
your  very  affectionate  brother, 

"  James  Hamilton." 


DONKEYS  AT  EMS.  269 

"Eus,July  31,  1S46. 

"  My  dear  Jane, —  .  ,  ,  I  am  sorry  that  we  did  not 
find  out  the  delights  of  donkey-riding  before  Mr.  (William) 
and  Mrs.  Hamilton  left  us.  We  have  now  had  three 
famous  excursions  in  this  way,  and  I  intend  another  this 
afternoon.  They  are  wonderful  creatures  for  strength 
and  sense  and  gentleness, — the  Esel  family  at  Ems.  On 
Tuesday  afternoon,  along  with  Mr.  Matheson,  we  all  went 
to  a  hill  about  two  miles  distant,  from  which  we  had  a 
splendid  prospect  down  the  Ehine  as  far  as  Bonn,  round 
to  the  Vosges  mountains  in  France,  and  back  to  the  Taunus 
hills  near  Heidelberg.  But  it  was  not  the  prospect,  but 
the  progress  to  it.  Every  donkey  is  followed  by  a  driver 
in  a  blue  blouse  and  a  scarlet  cap,  and  ours  entered  into 
the  spirit  of  the  thing.  Passing  through  a  wood  they 
descried  another  donkey  party  descending,  and  determined 
to  have  a  shine, — they  urged  ours  to  the  gallop.  The  rider 
has  nothing  for  it  but  to  stick  hard  and  scour  along.  T. 
Matheson  set  up  a  shout  which  would  have  done  credit 
to  a  wild  Indian,  and  the  opposite  party  Avere  evidently 
dismayed,  but  before  they  could  effect  a  retreat  into  the 
woods  we  were  on  them,  and  I  came  full  tilt  against  an 
elderly  Erench  lady,  and  nearly  swept  her  out  of  the 
saddle.  Her  looks  of  horror  so  diverted  our  company  that 
they  could  scarcely  hold  on  for  laughing,  and  when  we  got 
to  the  hill  top  we  all  protested  that  we  had  never  so  much 
enjoyed  a  ride.  But  to  tell  the  feats  of  the  donkeys  tran- 
scends the  limits  of  a  letter.  We  ambled  away  to  a  farm- 
house yesterday  morning  on  the  top  of  a  wooded  hill,  and 
besides  a  good  breakfast  got  several  new  butterflies.     The 


270  AN  EARTHQUAKE  AT  EMS. 

green  net  is  nearly  as  ke^ispecJcle  here  as  at  Versailles,  and 
yesterday  it  was  edifying  to  see  tlie  tall  donkey  driver 
rusliing  through  the  dust  and  flailing  at  the  scJwietterlinge, 
as  they  call  them  here.  On  Wednesday  evening,  a  little 
before  tea,  an  event  occurred  which  has  been  quite  an  era 
at  Ems.  I  had  pat  out  my  candle,  and  was  pulling  the 
quilt  about  my  shoulders,  when  I  felt  the  bed  hitch  up. 
Of  course  I  paused,  thinking  that  some  one  was  under  it, 
and  in  so  doing  observed  the  bed,  doors,  and  whole  room 
shaking  so  violently,  along  with  a  heavy  rumbhng  noise, 
that  the  next  thought  which  flashed  into  my  mind  was, 
'The  poor  gentleman  next  door  is  seized  with  a  fearful 
fit,'  and  a  cold  shudder  crept  over  me.  But  I  had  hardly 
time  to  think  this  when  I  saw  that  it  was  an  earthquake. 
I  got  up  and  hurried  on  my  clothes,  met  the  worthy  little 
Zimmer-madchen,  Elisabeth,  in  the  passage  wringing 
her  hands,  and  unlocking  the  parlour-door  found  the 
ladies,  who  had  not  gone  to  bed,  pale  and  almost  speech- 
less. By  this  time  all  the  dogs  were  barking,  and  a 
terrible  uproar  in  the  house  and  streets.  Knowing  that 
this  is  not  a  country  for  earthquakes,  I  did  not  feel 
alarmed,  but  just  for  this  very  reason  the  peojjle  of  the 
place  were  in  all  the  greater  panic.  In  case  of  another 
shock,  I  sat  up  for  an  hour ;  but  feehng  most  ungallantly 
sleepy  persuaded  the  ladies  to  go  back  to  their  room,  and 
having  again  committed  ourselves  to  Him  who  can  keep 
us  even  when  mountains  are  moving,  in  a  few  minutes  I 
was  fast  asleep.  Yesterday  and  to-day  many  people  are 
leaving  in  consequence  of  the  alarm." 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  MOSELLE.  271 

"BiNGEN,  Aug.  10,  1S4G. 

"  My  dear  Andrew, — On  Wednesday  we  took  leave  of 
Ems — almost  sorry  to  leave  a  place  where  we  all  thouglit 
we  had  got  some  health,  and  where  most  of  the  days  passed 
so  pleasantly.  We  made  no  friends  among  the  visitors 
except  at  last  exchanging  civil  words  with  a  few,  but  we 
had  a  great  many  humble  friends  who  were  concerned  at 
our  departure.  Such  as  Philip  and  Andrew,  the  honest 
and  sensible  donkey  drivers,  our  waiter  Louis,  who  turned 
out  to  be  an  entomologist.  (We  had  often  seen  him  looking 
at  our  butterfly  spoils  when  bringing  up  tea,  but  thought 
it  was  only  in  rude  wonder,  till  we  found  out  that  he  had  a 
much  larger  collection  of  his  own  than  any  of  us  are  likely 
to  possess.)  These  German  attendants  are  simple,  warm- 
hearted, and  obhging,  and,  as  they  are  all  well  educated, 
it  is  interesting  to  talk  to  them — a  thing  which  all  visitors 
except  the  English  do.  We  had  a  lot  of  English  servants 
about  the  house  latterly,  footmen  and  ladies'-maids,  who 
were  evidently  a  subject  of  great  surprise  and  compassion 
to  the  Germans.  They  treated  their  affectation  and  jaunty 
airs  just  as  they  would  have  been  treated  in  a  lunatic 
asylum, 

"  On  Thursday  evening  at  six  we  went  on  board  the  little 
steamer  which  sails  up  the  Moselle,  hoping  to  get  to  Treves, 
a  city  which,  next  to  Eome,  contains  the  most  Eoman 
antiquities.  We  had  a  lovely  route,  through  perpetual 
castles,  villages,  and  vineyards,  but  owing  to  the  uncom- 
mon drought  very  tedious.  We  were  frequently  obhged 
to  get  horses  to  drag  us  through  the  shallows.  We  wearied 
of  this,  and  got  out  at  tea-time  at  a  village  called  Alfen, 


272  THE  INTERIOR  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

where  the  guide-book  promised  us  the  best  inn  on  the 
Moselle.  It  was  a  truly  German  place, — a  piggery  under 
my  windows,  and  a  midden  below  those  of  the  parlour, 
and  so  many  queer  smells,  that  had  it  not  been  for  Eau-de- 
Cologne  we  could  have  done  little  justice  to  the  noble 
cheer  which  they  set  before  us.  Here,  and  in  other 
villages  through  which  we  passed,  it  is  astonishing  amidst 
what  pestilential  smells  the  people  live,  whilst  all  around 
is  the  sweetest  and  most  salubrious  air.  After  visiting 
an  iron- work  and  some  beautiful  scenery,  on  Friday  after- 
noon we  took  a  carriage  twenty  miles,  as  far  as  Simmern, 
and  next  morning  came  to  this  place  of  noted  beauty. 
This  overland  journey  is  what  hardly  any  Englishman  has 
yet  performed,  and  gave  us  more  insight  into  the  interior 
of  Germany  than  can  be  got  from  a  month  on  the  Ehine. 
In  the  first  place,  it  was  all  German.  Except  our  land- 
lord at  Simmern,  who  said  that  he  could  speak  a  little 
French,  but  whose  performances  in  that  way  went  no 
farther  than  '  Oui,  Monsieur,'  and  '  Bon  soir,'  we  did  not 
meet  a  creature  who  knew  any  other  language  than 
DeutseJi,  and,  what  is  more  remarkable,  the  said  landlord 
had  never  seen  an  English  sovereign.  The  travelling,  too, 
was  primitive.  We  came  to  a  ferry  where  there  was 
nothing  but  a  shallow  little  boat  and  no  boatman.  Our 
postilion  proceeded  to  help  liimself  to  this  boat,  and  would 
have  taken  us  across  in  it,  but  at  last  the  ferrymen  made 

their  appearance.     Mrs. was  in  a  perfect  panic  at  the 

idea  of  our  venturing  in  such  a  shell,  and  insisted  in 
English  on  getting  out  of  the  carriage.  This  being  inter- 
preted to  the  coachman,  he  looked  humanely  at  us,  as  a 


THE  INTERIOR  OF  THE  COUNTRY.  273 

tender-hearted  drover  would  look  at  three  calves  in  a 
cage,  and  quietly  led  his  horse  into  the  boat  with  the 
carriage,  contents  and  all.  Then  the  road  on  the  other 
side,  over  the  Hundsruch  mountains — such  bouncing  and 
bumping  over  rocks  and  stones  as  would  have  demolished 
a  Stonehouse  cart,  anything  except  a  German  Wagen — 
whisking  through  vineyards  all  fresh  and  tender  in  a  recent 
thunder  shower — holding  our  handkerchiefs  to  our  noses 
till  we  got  through  another  of  these  fetid  villages,  and 
then  emerging  on  thirty  miles  of  table-land  where  uni- 
versal silence  reigned.  There  were  no  farm-houses  nor 
isolated  cottages,  all  these  being  (like  Caffre  Kraals  or  the 
old  Scotch  touns)  clustered  in  little  villages, — every  village 
being  provided  with  its  church  and  school,  and  every 
habitation  with  its  Mrs.  M'Clarty.  Extent  and  silence 
were  the  genius  of  the  landscape ;  no  birds  except  the  quiet 
wagtail ;  no  people  except  the  solitary  herd  with  his  vast 
troop  of  goats  or  oxen — the  latter  not  lowing ;  no  travellers; 
no  noise  of  our  own  wheels  on  the  (now)  dusty  path — a 
region  struck  dumb.  Its  absolute  newness  made  us  enjoy 
it  greatly.  We  looked,  and  felt,  and  said  little.  To-day 
we  go  back  to  Coblentz,  to-morrow  to  Konigsberg,  on 
Friday  to  Aix,  and  thence  to  Antwerp.  If  all  be  well  I 
hope  we  shall  be  home  in  the  end  of  next  week.  I  am 
perfectly  ready  to  go  for  two  or  three  weeks  to  Scotland 
or  Wales,  or  wherever  you  may  like  best,  and  as  soon  as 
you  please,  and  am  very  happy  in  the  thought  of  thus 
enjoying  your  company.  Yourself  will  be  society  enough, 
and  unless  you  wish  to  superadd  some  other,  I  do  not.  1 
shall  be  ready  to  start  whenever  you  like,  and  in  whatever 

s 


274  SOJOURN  IN  WALES. 

direction.  I  am  sure  you  nmch  need  some  cliange  after  so 
lonfT  and  hard  a  season.  The  Ems  waters  are  alterative. 
Whilst  taking  them  I  felt  no  increase  of  strength  ;  perhaps 
the  reverse :  but  for  the  last  few  days  I  have  been  con- 
scious of  much  improvement.  The  inactivity  has  yielded 
to  a  more  sprightly  feeling.  I  have  slept  remarkably  well 
most  of  this  journey.  I  cannot  join  the  popular  vilifi- 
cation of  German  beds.  They  are  the  freshest  and  most 
elastic  I  have  ever  occupied,  and  except  last  night  I  have 
had  the  w^hole  to  myself.  Last  night  I  had  for  a  neigh- 
bour a  Floh,  which  the  Frenchman  I  succeeded  had  forgot 
to  take  with  him.  As  it  is  now  likely  to  be  the  end  of 
September  before  I  am  allowed  to  preach  again,  it  is  a 
great  comfort  to  have  the  pulpit  so  occupied.  I  would 
like  to  write  to  Arnot,  but  a  letter  takes  an  hour,  and, 
except  in  rain,  I  like  to  spend  every  hour  in  idlesse 
or  the  open  air.  His  coming  up  just  now  is  an  act  of 
friendship  for  which  I  feel  most  deeply  and  affectionately 
grateful. 

"Best  love  to  dear  mamma  and  Jane.  I  am  glad  to 
think  that  so  few  days  are  now  between  us,  though  the 
past  have  been  days  for  which  I  must  be  ever  grateful. 

"  J.  H." 

He  returned  from  the  Continent  improved  in  health ; 
but  it  was  judged  expedient  that  his  vacation  should  be 
prolonged  for  another  month.  Accordingly,  in  company 
with  several  members  of  his  own  family,  he  spent  the 
o-reater  part  of  September  in  Wales.  This  interval  was 
eminently  beneficial  in  restoring  his  strength  ;  it  was  also 


PLAXS  FOR  PREACHING.  275 

turned  to  account  in  maturing  scliemes  for  the  work  of 
the  ministry. 

"Bangor,  Sept.  6,  1846. 

"  Having  now  been  sequestered  from  all  preaching  for 
twenty  Sabbaths,  I  have  got  some  time  to  think  anew  on 
what  preaching  ought  to  be.  I  have  heard  many  sermons 
of  late.  Sometimes  I  have  been  so  weak  and  joyless  as 
not  to  be  a  fair  criterion,  but  generally  I  wished  to  be 
pleased,  and  was  not  unwilling  to  be  impressed.  Leaving 
out  of  account  all  the  erroneous  doctrine,  two  defects 
attach  to  most  of  the  pulpit  performances  at  which  I  have 
been  present.  Few  of  the  preachers  seemed  to  have  a 
definite  object  in  view  ;  and  of  the  few  who  were  anxious 
to  estabhsh  some  particular  doctrine,  or  enforce  some 
specific  duty,  I  can  scarcely  recollect  one  whose  discourse 
was  so  fresh,  and  clear,  and  persuasive  that  the  careless 
would  be  arrested,  that  the  simple  could  follow,  and  that 
the  attentive  would  be  impressed. 

"  Around  my  own  recovery  there  still  hangs  a  serious 
uncertainty;  but  thinking  of  it  as  a  thing,  in  the  kind 
providence  of  God,  not  impossible,  nor  altogether  unlikely, 
I  often  revolve  on  beginning  my  ministry,  and  what  should 
I  preach,  and  how. 

"  Now,  it  does  seem  to  me  that  the  Lord  Jesus  is  the 
Alpha  and  the  Omega  of  Christianity,  and  that  the  gospel 
ministry  has  achieved  its  highest  end  when  it  brings  a 
soul  into  a  reahzing  knowledge  and  firm  behef  of  what 
Jesus  Christ  has  clone  and  what  he  is.  When  it  has  en- 
kindled such  an  adoring  affection  for  him  that  henceforth 
to  live  is  Christ,  and  when  it  has  availed  itself  of  this  new 


276  COURSE  ON  THE  EVIDENCES. 

principle,  to  elicit  a  frank  obedience  to  Christ's  commands, 
and  a  studious  conformity  to  Clirist's  example. 

"  There  is  one  preliminary  point  on  which  I  have  some 
difficulty.  I  fear  that  many  hearers  do  not  intelligently 
and  assuredly  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world. 
And  I  do  not  know  whether  for  their  sakes  I  should  not 
commence  with  some  brief  and  forcible  proofs  of  the  his- 
toric fact.  If  mine  were  a  country  congregation,  I  should 
never  think  of  so  employing  a  single  Sabbath.  But  our 
young  men  are  in  frequent  intercourse  with  sceptics  and 
scoffers,  and  I  strongly  suspect  that  some  of  our  well-dis- 
posed and  sober-minded  people  are  haunted  with  specu- 
lative doubts  and  scientific  difficulties.  To  some  I  really 
believe  it  would  be  a  relief, — it  would  be  setting  them  on  a 
rock,  and  putting  the  new  song  in  their  mouths, — did  they 
know  for  certain  that  the  New  Testament  was  written  in 
the  first  century,  and  were  they  as  sure  of  the  facts  in  the 
Saviour's  history  as  they  are  sure  of  the  narrative  in 
Csesar's  Commentaries.  Would  it  be  worth  while  employ- 
ing a  few  Sabbaths  on  some  of  the  most  striking  evidences  ? 
I  think  it  would.  I  think  that  I  myself  have  no  more 
doubt  of  the  occurrences  related  by  the  Evangelists  than  if 
I  had  personally  witnessed  them  ;  but  I  fear  that  some  of 
my  hearers  may  not  be  so  fully  persuaded,  and  I  also  fear 
that  in  such  cases,  without  this  preliminary  persuasion, 
subsequent  reasonings  and  appeals  would  be,  for  the  most 
part,  labour  lost. 

"  The  next  thing  would  be  to  present  to  the  minds  of 
the  people  the  most  vivid  conception  I  am  capable  of 
forming,  or  for  which  the  Scriptures  supply  the  materials, 


DOCTRmE  AND  LIFE.  277 

of  what  the  Saviour  was,  what  He  did,  and  what  He  is,  at 
the  same  time  striving,  by  every  touching  consideration, 
to  make  such  a  Saviour  precious.  There  are  two  classes 
who  are  most  likely  to  hail  Him, — those  who  have  a  great 
burden  on  their  conscience,  and  those  who  have  a  gTeat 
void  in  their  souls.  It  should  therefore  be  an  object  of 
my  ministry  to  convince  of  sin,  to  make ,  the  conscience- 
burdened  know  what  it  really  is  which  weighs  them  down, 
and  direct  them  to  that  Lamb  of  God  who  takes  the  load 
away.  And  for  the  other  class,  the  restless,  and  craving, 
and  life-weary,  I  must  try  to  show  them  how  in  Jesus 
Christ  they  will  find  love  without  alloy  and  a  Friend 
without  infirmity, — a  Friend  worth  living  for,  and  with 
whom  it  will  be  blessedness  to  live  eternally. 

"  And  the  last  thing  to  be  attempted  is  to  give  such  an 
exposition  of  Christian  character,  the  things  sublime  and 
the  things  amiable  in  living  Christianity,  as,  in  connec- 
tion with  love  to  Christ,  will  produce  a  holy  ambition  to 
abound  in  them.  The  production  of  holy,  Christ-like 
character  is  the  highest  result  of  evangelical  preaching, 
but  it  is  also  the  rarest.  It  is  rare,  because  many  evan- 
gelical preachers  do  not  venture  to  descend  into  the  details 
of  Christian  duty,  and  some  who  have  studied  these  fail 
in  supplying  the  great  motive  to  Clnistian  practice.  What 
I  long  to  see  is  a  Church  of  saints,  a  band  of  happy, 
devoted,  unworldly  men,  full  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and 
abounding  in  good  and  noble  deeds, — a  Church  of  mem- 
bers far  superior  to  their  present  ministers. 

"  These  are  the  things  at  which  I  would  aim.  I  have 
a  deep  conviction  that  no  mere  preaching  can  produce 


278     CONGRATULATIONS  TO  HIS  BROTHER. 

these  things,  but  I  also  believe  that  these  ends  are  never 
earnestly  and  prayerfully  sought  without  the  power  of 
God's  Spirit  accompanying  the  minister." 

This  scheme  for  a  course  of  sermons  is  the  expansion  of 
a  briefer  note  inserted  at  a  previous  date.  The  plan  in 
its  fuller  form  shows  the  aim  of  a  workman  who  strives 
to  divide  rightly  the  word  of  truth.  Jesus  stands  in  the 
midst  of  this  ministry,  with  the  evidences  on  one  side 
and  the  fruits  on  the  other.  The  series  on  the  Evidences 
was  meant  to  lead  the  hearers  to  Christ,  and  the  series 
on  Christian  Character  was  meant  to  keep  the  converts 
following  Christ.  This  is  substantially  the  old  apostolic 
resolution, — a  determination  to  know  nothing  among  the 
flock  but  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified. 

"  Bangor,  Sept.  8,  1846. 

"  ]My  dear  Brother  and  Sister, — So  full  are  we  all  of 
the  tidings  of  this  afternoon  that  the  most  natural  and 
most  pleasant  thing  I  can  do  is  to  write  a  few  lines  to 
Stoneliouse.  I  will  not  tell  you  how  Jane  and  I  went  to 
the  post-office,  hardly  expecting  a  letter,  and  then  the 
amazement  and  the  glee  with  which  we  read  the  holo- 
graph announcement  from  grandmamma  herself,  and  how 
we  went  back  to  the  house  and  teazed  and  puzzled  Andrew 
by  saluting  him  '  Uncle  Andrew.'  But  I  must  tell  you 
how  happy  and  thankful  the  good  tidings  have  made  us, 
and  how  earnestly  we  hope  to  hear  continued  good  ac- 
counts. AVhen  John  Foster  was  an  old  man,  the  only 
survivors  of  his  family  were  two  daughters,  and  it  is 
curious  to  read  his  mournful  forebodings  of  their  future 


THE  WELSH  CALVINISTS.  279 

lot  in  life.  He  had  gloomy  views  of  life  in  general,  but 
it  was  liis  opinion  that  the  life  of  women  in  this  world  is 
peculiarly  unhappy.  I  do  not  agree  with  him  either  in  his 
general  or  his  particular  views.  Considering  how  much 
evil  survives  in  the  best,  I  wonder  that  earthly  life  is  so 
happy ;  and,  so  far  as  my  memory  goes,  some  of  the  calm- 
est, serenest,  and  most  blessed  lives  have  been  those  of 
well-educated  and  pious  women.  Harriet  Newell,  Ehs. 
Smith,  Fanny  Woodbury,  and  many  more  of  whom  I  have 
read,  betwixt  the  peace  of  God  which  filled  their  hearts 
and  that  soft  atmosphere  of  kindness  and  respect  which 
their  goodness  gathered  round  them,  led  very  happy  lives  ; 
and  though  some,  like  Mrs.  Graham  and  Mrs.  Huntington, 
had  great  trials,  they  had  greater  joys.  I  trust  you  may 
both  be  spared  till  you  see  Christian  principles  so  con- 
firmed in  the  mind  of  this  little  girl,  that  when  you  are  at 
last  taken  away  for  a  season  you  may  have  no  fear  for  her 
future.  When  there  is  an  early  dedication  to  God,  fol- 
lowed up  by  prayerful  painstaking,  I  have  no  fear  that 
this  will  be  the  result." 

TO  MR.  WILLIAM  HAMILTON. 

"CARNAuvoif,  Sept.  17,  LS46. 
"  So  intensely  Welsh  are  the  Welsh  Calvinists,  that  it 
is  of  no  use  going  to  their  chapels.  We  heard  a  good 
sermon  from  the  Independent  minister  at  Bangor,  and 
another  good  one  in  the  Wesleyan  chapel  here.  Our 
experiments  in  the  Established  Church  have  been  very 
discouraging.  The  Bishop  of  Bangor  and  a  stranger  whom 
we  heard  here  last  Sabbath  were  utterly  insignificant.     A 


280  THE  CONDITION  AND  CLAIMS 

gentleman  whom  I  met  on  the  top  of  the  coach  took 
measures  to  count  the  actual  attendance  one  Sunday  in 
all  the  seventy-three  parish  churches  of  Anglesea.  In  a 
population  of  47,000  there  were  less  than  500, — less  than 
an  average  of  seven  to  each.  And  yet  I  suppose  the  High 
Churchmen  will  clamour  for  the  continuance  of  the  dio- 
cese of  St.  Asaph,  as  if  the  permanence  of  Christianity  in 
North  Wales  were  involved  in  it.  Last  night  Mr.  Gil- 
lespie's old  friend,  Mr.  Eees  of  Liverpool,  was  preaching 
here.  He  had  on  a  week  evening  five  times  as  many 
hearers  as  all  the  Episcopalians  of  Anglesea.  .  .  . 

"  Now  that  in  the  kind  providence  of  God  I  have  the 
prospect  of  soon  preaching  again,  my  mind  is  much  occu- 
pied about  this  winter's  subject.  As  recent  events  ad- 
monish, 'the  time  is  short;'  and  as  the  discourses  will  at 
first  be  limited  to  the  morning,  will  it  not  be  better  to 
suspend  the  lectures  on  the  Acts,  and  give  a  short  course 
on  the  most  essential  things  of  Christianity?  These,  1 
am  persuaded,  might  be  made  far  fresher  and  more  simple 
than  they  usually  are,  and  I  would  even  hope  more  im- 
pressive." 

An  intelligent  observer,  with  the  spirit  at  once  of  a 
Christian  and  a  patriot,  sojourning  for  a  month  in  Wales, 
must  needs  take  note,  in  sadness  or  indignation,  accord- 
ing to  temperament,  of  the  position  occupied  by  the 
Established  Church  in  the  Principality.  The  Welsh 
Calvinistic  Methodists,  supplemented  efficiently  by  some 
other  orthodox  communities,  are  the  really  national  Church. 
Unlike  the  Gaelic  in  Scotland,  which  is  confined  to  the 


OF  THE  ESTABLISHED  CHUECH  IN  WALES.       281 

remotest  localities,  and  the  least  educated  of  the  people, 
the  Welsh  tongue  is  cherished  and  used  by  the  bulk  of 
the  people  in  the  Principality, — the  educated  as  well  as 
the  unlearned.  The  preaching,  accordingly,  that  is  truly 
national  employs  the  native  tongue.  Symptoms,  however, 
are  not  w^anting  to  warn  the  Christians  of  that  country,  that, 
though  they  have  hitherto  embanked  their, territory  against 
the  rising  tide  of  the  English  language  much  more  com- 
pletely than  the  Scottish  Highlands,  the  time  is  coming 
when  the  barriers  must  give  way.  There  is  no  time  to  be 
lost.  A  prudent  glance  into  the  immediate  future  should 
suffice  to  stir  up  all  their  energy  in  the  direction  of 
providing  ordinances  for  the  rising  generation  in  the 
English  tongue. 

The  notice  regarding  the  late  Mr,  Eees  of  Liverpool, 
which  occurs  in  the  close  of  this  extract,  is  most  interest- 
ing in  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  Mr.  Eees  was  the 
true  bishop  of  North  Wales.  That  voice  of  the  godly 
people,  which  in  such  a  matter  is  the  voice  of  God,  clearly 
designated  him  as  the  chief  pastor  and  preacher  of  the 
Gospel.  His  memory  overshadows  the  province  still.  At 
the  mention  of  his  name  in  any  company  spontaneous 
signs  of  tender  reverence  are  displayed.  Yet,  when  that 
man  died,  the  incumbent  of  the  parish,  being  anomalously 
ruler  of  the  national  cemetery,  permitted  his  dust  to  be 
buried  only  on  condition  that  his  sorrowing  disciples 
should  keep  their  lips  closed,  and  not  dare  to  sing  a 
hymn  by  the  brink  of  his  grave  ! 

The  latter  part  of  this  prolonged  vacation  was  turned 
to  good  account  for  his  own  subsequent  ministry.     With 


282  HIS  NEED  OF  SOCIETY. 

sucli  a  measure  of  healtli  as  enabled  him  to  be  a  bearer, 
but  not  sucb  as  to  justify  him  in  attempting  to  preach,  he 
occupied  the  interval  as  a  worshipper  with  various  sections 
of  the  Church,  and  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 
Wliatever  excellences  he  observed  during  this  period,  were 
treasured  as  examples ;  and  if  he  also  noted  the  faults  of 
other  preachers,  he  employed  them  as  a  means  of  detecting 
and  amending  his  own. 

His  entrance  into  the  marriage  relation  is  generally  one 
of  the  great  turning-points  of  a  man's  life.  Different 
persons  are,  of  course,  differently  affected  by  it,  according 
to  their  age,  and  character,  and  habits ;  but  even  where 
least,  the  consequences  to  happiness  and  usefulness  are 
unspeakably  great.  Perhaps  we  would  be  safe  in  saying 
that  James  Hamilton  was  one  of  those  persons  who  ex- 
perience the  need,  and  enjoy  the  benefit  of  a  help-meet  in 
the  very  highest  degree.  Such  a  companion  was  a  prime 
necessity  for  him,  and  he  knew  it.  He  was  not  one  of 
those  firm,  self-contained  mortals,  who  can  stand  alone, 
and  be  all  the  world  to  themselves.  His  spirit  was  of  the 
full  and  overflowing  kind,  that  is  ready  to  burst  unless  it 
is  permitted  to  pour  out  its  emotions  more  frequently  and 
more  completely  than  is  possible  in  any  human  relation 
except  the  nearest.  Accordingly,  he  accounted  it  a  great 
matter,  and  gave  it  the  gravest  consideration  ;  but  he  could 
not  command  the  blessing.  He  silently  prayed  for  the 
gift,  and  then  waited  the  Giver's  good  time.  He  learned 
in  his  own  experience,  as  many  have  learned  before  him^ 
tliat  marriages  are  made  in  heaven. 

At  length  the  right  j)crson  aj^peared  in  the  right  place, 


MRS.  MOORE  AND  HER  FAMILY.       283 

It  may  liave  been  oLserved  from  intimations  in  Mr. 
Hamilton's  letters  tliat  one  of  his  favourite  retreats  from 
the  bustle  of  the  city  was  at  Willeuhall,  under  the  roof  of 
Mrs.  Moore,  widow  of  the  late  John  Moore,  Esq.,  of  Cal- 
cutta, who  had  lately  returned  from  India.  From  these 
pleasant  sojournings  "  important  consequences  followed." 
Mrs.  Moore's  eldest  daughter  was  at  that  time  very  young, 
and  in  the  first  instance  he  entertained  no  design  and  no 
expectation  in  the  direction  of  matrimony ;  but  as  time 
went  on,  according  to  his  own  confession,  he  "  found  in  her 
such  a  fountain  sealed  of  various  goodness," — found  her  so 
"  full  of  sense  and  considerateness  and  mature  feeling,  as 
well  as  mere  girlish  innocence  and  simplicity,"  that  he 
was  taken  captive  in  the  usual  way.  Judgment  and  affec- 
tion conspired  in  the  choice,  motlier  and  daughter  were 
duly  consulted,  all  parties  interested  gave  cordial  consent, 
and  the  contract,  real  though  not  formal,  was  fixed,  with 
the  condition  that  a  considerable  period  should  intervene 
ere  the  marriage  should  take  place. 

The  series  of  letters  addressed  by  Mr.  Hamilton  to  his 
affianced  between  the  time  of  the  engagement  and  the 
date  of  his  marriage  is  a  unique  and  most  interesting  col- 
lection. We  shall  submit  some  specimens.  By  the  nature 
of  the  case  the  choice  is  necessarily  limited  ;  yet,  to  with- 
hold them  altogether  would  leave  a  blank  in  the  delinea- 
tion of  a  character  which  was,  in  a  very  remarkable  degree, 
simi)le,  pure,  and  elevated.  In  this  step  of  his  life,  as  well 
as  others,  he  walked  by  faith ;  and  none  might  dare  to 
annoy  him,  in  such  a  tender  and  grave  transaction,  with 
any  species  of  levity. 


284  BIRTHDAY  MEMORIES. 

"Dee's  Hotel,  Birmingham,  Aj^ril  15,  1845. 

"  My  dearest  Annie, — It  was  the  wish  of  Archbishop 
Leighton  that,  as  he  had  been  a  pilgrim  all  his  days,  he 
might  die  in  an  inn ;  and  I  have  often  looked  at  the  old 
house  in  Warwick  Lane,  the  Bell  Inn,  where  God  gave 
him  his  desire.  And  good  Mr.  Jones  of  Creaton  (the 
'  Basket  of  Fragments ')  lived  all  his  days  in  a  little 
country  inn.  But  neither  of  them,  I  tliink,  would  have 
chosen  the  traveller's  room.  Here  I  am  at  the  corner  of  a 
very  long  table,  at  the  further  end  of  which  Mr.  Nisbet  is 
manufacturing  tea  in  what  he  calls  the  orthodox  way — 
that  is,  in  Mrs.  Nisbet's  way, — a  Presbytery  clerk  at  my 
elbow  is  copying  his  minutes,  one  is  studying  the  Bir- 
mingham Directory,  two  are  writing  home,  and  fifteen  or 
sixteen  ministers  and  elders  are  talking  in  the  various 
tongues  of  our  motley  Presbyterianism. 

"  Of  the  sights  of  Liverpool  I  saw  none  except  the 
Zoological  Gardens.  There  I  missed  many  old  friends, 
whose  acquaintance  I  made  in  1838.  They  have  stiU  the 
same  elephant,  but  his  character  is  under  a  cloud.  A 
short  time  ago  he  kiUed  a  man  in  a  fit  of  revenge.  The 
man  had  pricked  his  trunk  when  pretending  to  feed  him, 
and  the  elephant  took  the  first  opportunity  to  seize  him, 
and  squeeze  him  to  death.  .  .  . 

"  By  the  date  of  your  dear  mamma's  note  I  find  that  this 
is  a  memorable  day  in  her  histor}^,  and  in  that  of  your 
family, — her  brother's  birthday,  and  her  own  saihng  for 
India.  It  is  also  a  day  of  solemn  remembrance  with  me. 
It  is  ten  years  to-day  since  the  Lord  took  my  father  to 
himself, — the  saddest  day,  at  the  time,  I  ever  saw,  thougli 


FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER.  285 

I  can  look  back  to  it  now  without  the  bleak  and  desolate 
feelings  which  long  rested  over  it.  Like  your  own  father, 
he  had  been  very  diligent  when  young,  and  possessed  a 
great  abundance  of  information  on  almost  every  subject. 
He  was  full  of  affection  to  us,  and  had,  more  than  any  one 
I  have  known,  loving  and  adoring  views  of  our  blessed 
Saviour.  ..." 

"  May  25, 1845. — Let  me  try  to  sanctify  my  affection,  to 
make  our  mutual  regard  a  means  of  good.  I  must  seek 
to  guide  her  studies,  to  help  her  dear  mother  in  directing 
them,  and  above  all  must  try  to  increase  her  personal 
piety,  expanding  her  mind,  enlarging  her  information,  and 
trying  to  give  a  holy  elevation  to  her  character,  to  fit  her 
for  those  scenes  and  duties  in  which  it  is  my  hope  yet  to 
see  her." 

"  7  Lansdowne  Place,  June  10,  1845. 

"...  "Well,  my  dearest  Annie,  the  things  about  which 
I  am  most  anxious  are  your  character  and  your  acquire- 
ments. Don't  startle  when  I  speak  of  character,  as  if  I 
imagined  you  had  still  one  to  make.  It  was  because  you 
had  made  Mary's  choice,  and  because  you  had  so  many 
congenial  dispositions,  that  I  felt  it  right  to  entertain 
towards  you  those  feelings  which  now  I  do.  But  the  best 
character  is  that  which  improves  the  fastest,  and  nothing 
will  give  me  so  much  joy  as  to  see  you  winning  every 
one's  esteem  by  your  good  sense  and  energy,  your  gentle- 
ness and  self-denial.  You  cannot  be  too  kind  to  grand- 
papa and  grandmamma,  and  you  may  be  very  useful,  not 
only  to  Helen,  Fanny,  and  Mary,  but  to  your  brothers 


286  HOW  TO  READ  BOOKS. 

also.  Of  dear  mamma  I  need  say  nothing,  knowing  how 
much  you  love  her,  except  this,  that  I  hope  she  will 
never  see  in  either  of  us  what  will  give  her  a  moment's 
concern,  and  this,  that  one  of  the  loveliest  things  in  your- 
self is  that  you  have  loved  so  much  one  whose  wisdom 
and  affection  and  goodness  would  have  made  her  (even 
though  she  had  not  been  your  own  mother)  so  worthy  of 
your  love.  And  oh,  Annie,  take  time  for  prayer  !  They 
are  dreary  and  disjointed  days  when  God  is  not  with 
us,  but  everything  prospers  well  when  His  blessing  is 
secured. 

"Then  for  acquirements.  I  am  glad  that  you  are  so 
fond  of  %vork,  and  that  you  have  a  taste  for  music.  The 
only  other  thing  about  which  I  am  anxious  is  your 
information.  The  world  is  full  of  accomplished  and  igno- 
rant women,  people  who  can  dance  and  draw  and  em- 
broider, but  whose  company  is  far  more  irksome  than  the 
solitary  confinement  of  Pentonville  prison.  If  you  have, 
what  you  can  so  easily  get,  a  well-furnished  mind  (by 
adding  diligently  to  the  knowledge  you  have  already 
attained),  you  will  possess  what  few  of  your  lady  sisters 
have.  Two  hours  of  solid  reading  daily,  in  which  I  would 
gladly  be  a  sharer  on  the  days  I  am  at  Willenhall,  and 
perhaps  half-an-hour  in  writing  down  the  results,  would 
be  a  goodly  acquisition  in  the  course  of  a  year.  What 
would  you  think  of  laying  down  and  enforcing  on  your- 
self this  rule  ?  History,  biography,  voyages  and  travels, 
and  books  on  natural  history,  are  the  most  useful  kinds 
of  general  reading.  It  is  an  excellent  plan  to  make  the 
books  one  has  been  reading  the  subject  of  conversation. 


FROSTED  FLOWERS.  287 

It  impresses  them  on  the  memory,  and  saves  many  of 
those  idle  words  for  which  we  must  give  account. 

"  I  know  that  you  know  me  too  well  to  look  on  this  as 
a  mere  letter  of  advice.  It  is  a  letter  of  anxiety.  You 
have  been  in  my  heart  as  I  wrote  every  word,  and  though 
there  are  many  persons  for  whose  welfare  I  am  concerned, 
there  is  none  whose  growing  improvement^  in  intelligence 
and  piety  and  beauty  of  character  can  be  the  same  joy  to 
me.  .  .  .  The  Lord  shine  on  you  with  His  face,  and  make 
us  happy  in  Himself. — Your  ever  affectionate 

"  James  Hamilton." 


"10  Bath  Street,  Worthing, 
Saturday,  Jv.hj  10,  1845. 

"  My  dearest  Annie, —  .  .  .  Yesterday  afternoon  I 
went  to  see  a  rich  nursery-garden  in  the  neighbourhood. 
The  rarest  plant  in  it  was  an  American  mallow,  with  a 
flower  as  large  as  a  hollyhock.  It  came  accidentally 
among  some  American  roots,  and  turned  out  to  be  a  new 
species.  Professor  Lindley  named  it  Malca  Fullcriana^  in 
honour  of  our  friend  Fuller,  the  nurseryman,  who  sliowed 
it  to  us ;  and  so  gorgeous  was  it  that  he  had  orders  for 
three  himdred  cuttings  of  it  at  a  guinea  each,  and  got  a 
man  from  London  on  purpose  to  attend  to  them,  when  one 
frosty  night  the  fellow  got  tipsy,  and  left  the  glass  open, 
so  that  they  aU  perished.  The  survivor  which  we  saw 
was  a  plant  that  he  had  previously  sent  to  Baron  Alder- 
son,  but  by  this  time  a  Parisian  florist  had  somehow  got 
possession  of  the  plant, — so  that,  hke  the  milkmaid  and 
her  pail,  Mr.  Puller's  vision  of  golden  guineas  was  all  dis- 


288  FEENCH  WORKMEN. 

pelled-  In  tliat  garden  we  saw  a  profusion  of  roses,  as 
great  a  variety  as  I  have  ever  noticed,  but  none  of  them 
so  sweet  to  me  as  your  moss-buds.  At  this  moment  I  am 
sitting  before  the  fire,  for  it  is  really  cold,  and  your  roses 
are  on  the  mantelpiece  as  fresh  as  their  neighbours  at 
WiUenhall." 

"  Rouen  (Hotel  d' Albion),  Aug.  9,  1845. 
"  My  dear  Annie, — As  I  am  not  likely  to  keep  any 
other  record  of  this  excursion,  I  shall  set  down  whatever 
comes  into  my  mind,  and  just  in  the  order  in  which  it 
comes, — along,  perhaps,  with  some  of  those  things  which 
I  would  have  been  apt  to  say  if  you  yourself  had  been 
beside  me.  I  will  thus  feel  in  some  measure  as  if  I  were 
in  your  company,  and  will  feel  more  interest  in  what  I 
see.  .  .  .  Havre  is  the  Liverpool  of  France,  and  a  very 
Uvely  town.  We  stayed  all  Friday  there.  One  thing 
struck  me  at  once — the  boundless  vivacity  of  the  French 
people.  Some  masons  were  repairing  our  hotel,  and  sing- 
ing at  their  work.  Some  carpenters  were  repairing  a 
steamer  which  lay  opposite  our  window,  a  job  which 
needed  haste,  as  she  required  to  sail  next  day,  and  they 
twirled  their  gimlets  and  flourished  their  hammers,  and 
skipped  about  in  search  of  pins  and  nails,  as  if  they  were 
capering  through  a  pantomime.  And  some  sailor  lads 
were  washing  out  a  deck,  when  they  began  to  souse  one 
another  with  their  water-buckets,  and  soon  got  up  a 
famous  sham-fight.  I  do  not  know  if  they  get  through  as 
much  work  as  our  sullen  and  deliberate  English  labourers, 
but  they  certainly  go  more  briskly  about  it.     Here  the 


*  ENTOMOLOGY.  289 

working  men  all  wear  bright  blue  smocks,  and  the  women, 
except  ladies  of  quality,  go  about,  not  in  bonnets,  but  in 
muslin  caps,  some  of  them  very  fantastic,  but  all  of  them, 
down  to  the  very  poorest,  of  a  snowy  whiteness.  It  is  no 
uncommon  thing  to  see  the  common  people,  husband  and 
wife,  going  arm-in-arm,  which  I  have  never  seen  in  Eng- 
land. They  are  wondrously  polite  and  affable,  and  talk 
as  much  in  a  day  as  would  suffice  a  Saxon  for  a  month. 
In  some  things  they  are  very  far  behind  us.  Their  horses 
are  small,  and  wretcliedly  harnessed,  often  yoked  into 
their  omnibuses  with  ropes,  and  the  said  omnibuses  piti- 
ful wooden  machines  without  springs,  in  which  the  pas- 
sengers bob  up  and  down  like  dice  in  a  dice-box.  The 
streets  are  swarming  with  soldiers  and  police — a  sign  of  a 
lower  stage  of  civilisation ;  and  the  streets  themselves  are 
narrow  and  dirty,  and  the  interior  of  the  houses  too  much 
in  keeping  with  the  streets.  On  the  hiU  d'Yngonville  I 
first  tried  the  new  net  with  which  mamma  supplied  me, 
and  almost  the  first  capture  was  her  favourite  golden 
Y-moth.  We  also  secured  a  Goliath  of  a  grub,  a  sleek 
green  monster,  which  far  surpasses  any  caterjDillar  I  have 
seen  at  home.  I  cleared  out  a  box  of  soda-powders  for  his 
special  accommodation,  but  I  fear  that  he  is  not  thriving 
in  his  new  quarters."    .    .    . 

"Rouen-,  Sabhath,  Aug.  10,  1845. 
"  This  morning  we  went  immediately  after  breakfast  to 
the  cathedral,  one  of  the  finest  in  France.  They  were 
celebrating  mass.  A  great  multitude,  perhaps  2000,  were 
present,  almost  entirely  women  and  children,  and  of  these 
again  very  few  seemed  earnest  or  devout.    I  do  not  wonder 

T 


290  ROMISH  WORSHIP. 

at  what  an  English  gentleman,  long  resident  in  Eouen, 
told  us  yesterday,  that  not  three  Erenchmen  in  a  thousand 
believe  in  any  religion.  The  only  religion  which  arrests 
their  eye  is  the  one  w^iose  mummeries  we  witnessed  this 
morning, — and  certainly  a  greater  outrage  on  common 
sense,  or  a  more  daring  mockery  of  the  heavenly  Majesty 
under  pretence  of  worship,  I  never  expected  to  see.  It 
was  not  so  much  the  service  in  an  unknown  tongue,  but 
the  entire  ceremonial — so  childish,  so  theatrical,  so  alien 
to  the  very  genius  of  Christianity,  and  in  the  present  in- 
stance so  irreverent, — for  the  priests  of  Eouen  are  a  coarse 
and  rascal  set.  In  the  procession  of  the  host  they  stood 
for  some  moments  where  we  sat,  and  made  faces  and 
joked  with  one  another  in  what  should  have  been  a  most 
solemn  part  of  the  service,  and  showed  little  anxiety  even 
to  seem  sincere.  I  should  except  two  dignified  ecclesi- 
astics, the  one  a  very  young  man,  from  his  graceful  man- 
ners and  noble  look  probably  of  higher  birth,  at  least  of 
more  elevated  sentiments  than  the  sordid  herd  around 
him ;  and  the  other  an  old  priest  of  that  earnest  and 
ascetic  look  which  reminded  me  of  Mr.  Newman.  An 
aged  Protestant  pastor  (a  Frenchman),  whom  I  met  this 
morning,  said  '  Popery  will  soon  die  out  in  Europe  unless 
your  country  give  it  another  chance  !'   ,   .    . 

"  Tuesday  Morning. —  ...  I  give  myself  credit  for 
some  forbearance,  in  as  far  as  I  have  given  so  little 
space  to  the  subject  which  most  occupies  my  thoughts. 
The  Lord  bless  you  and  keep  you.  In  these  ramblings 
I  often  revert  to  that  happy  Wednesday  which  we  spent 
so  much  of  together,  and  which  made  even  us  so  juuch 


SIR  SAMUEL  ROMILLY,  291 

better  acquainted  with  one  another.  I  used  to  think  that 
our  minds  were  congenial;  but  now  I  feel  as  if  there 
were  an.  interfusion  of  our  souls, — as  if  what  we  had,  we 
had  between  us.  ...  I  am  sorry  when  I  hear  people 
only  jesting  and  laughing  about  these  things.  You  are 
not  only  so  dear  to  my  heart,  but  so  sacred  in  my  eyes, 
that  I  would  not  like  that  our  affection  .should  ever  be 
a  subject  for  raillery  or  quizzing." 

"  108  Marine  Paeade,  Brighton, 
Sept.  5,  1845. 
"...  We  are  here  very  pleasantly  situated,  and  have 
had  two  days  of  quiet  leisure.  There  is  a  Uttle  strip  of 
garden  reaching  down  from  these  houses  to  the  sea,  where 
yesterday  I  saw  a  prodigious  crowd  of  the  cabbage  butter- 
fly among  the  mignonette  and  the  tamarisks.  So  many 
were  they  that  the  children  were  looking  over  the  fence  at 
them.  A  man  sorting  the  garden  brought  me  in  a  great 
caterpillar  which  he  found  on  the  privet.  It  will  likely 
be  some  sort  of  hawk-moth.  I  spent  a  week  at  Brighton 
in  January  last  year,  and  then  read  the  half  of  Sir  Samuel 
Eomilly's  Life.  I  was  exceedingly  taken  with  it,  for  in 
some  things  I  saw  a  curious  resemblance  betwixt  his  turn 
of  mind  and  my  own.  Yesterday  I  went  back  to  the 
same  library,  and  borrowed  the  last  volume,  and  in  read- 
ing it  was  surprised  and  happy  to  find  (what  I  had  for- 
gotten) that  the  name  of  the  lady  to  whom  he  owed 
nearly  '  all  the  real  happiness  of  his  life  '  was  Anne.  She 
was  a  remarkable  person,  and  theirs  was  a  more  remark- 
able love.  There  was  only  one  element  wanting  in  it ; 
and  when,  after  twenty  years  of  devoted  affection,  Lady 


292  REMINISCENCES  OF  HIS  SISTER. 

Eomilly  was  taken  from  liim,  poor  Sir  Samuel  tai  no 
comforter  to  go  to.  His  heart  broke,  and  in  the  frenzy  of 
his  grief  he  destroyed  himself  It  is  likely  that  we,  too, 
who  have  to  wait  some  time  for  our  completed  happiness 
on  earth,  may  again  have  to  wait  a  little  while — the  one 
in  the  absence  of  the  other — for  our  completer  happiness 
in  heaven.  But  whoever  be  the  one  whose  lot  is  to  tarry 
in  the  body  when  the  other  is  gone  home,  0  Annie,  may 
the  Lord  give  that  one  a  meek  and  weaned  spirit,  willing 
to  wait  the  happy  hour  '  when  death-divided  friends  shall 
meet  to  part  no  more.'  " 

"  9  Upper  Rock  Gardens,  Brighton, 
Oct.  10,  1845. 
"  My  dear  Annie, — ■  .  .  .  What  were  you  doing  on  the 
10th  October  1838?  That  was  the  day  when  I  was 
licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Edinburgh, — the  day  of  the 
highest  wind  I  ever  remember.  We  then  lived  in  George 
Square,  and  I  do  not  wonder  that  some  who  then  lived 
in  it  feel  Lansdowne  Place  a  dull  exchange.  It  was  a 
sweet  and  peaceful  abode,  but  in  less  than  a  month  there- 
after an  event  occurred  which  made  it  for  some  time  a 
sad  one.  My  sister  Mary  died  on  the  5th  Nov.  She  was 
eighteen,  and  for  the  last  two  years  of  her  life  had  been 
very  delicate.  She  was  full  of  gentle  goodness,  and  though 
not  so  brilliant  as  an  older  sister  who  died  seven  years 
before,  had  mind  enough  to  make  her  interesting  without 
making  her  formidable." 

"7  Lansdowne  Place,  Nov.  19,  1845. 
"...   When  coming  down  stairs  on  Monday  morning 
(I  am  ashamed  to  say  it  was  a  quarter-past  nine),  I  met 


AN  OPERATION  FOR  CATARACT.       293 

Miss  Fector  coming  in.  Slie  had  come  with  £50  for  the 
Schemes  of  the  Church, — a  thank-offering  from  her  mother. 
It  seems  that  Mrs.  Fector  had  a  cataract  in  lier  eye,  and 
was  intending  to  undergo  the  usual  operation  for  its 
removal,  but  she  did  not  hke  the  idea  of  the  operation 
much  more  than  the  prospect  of  losing  the  eye,  and  she 
prayed  very  earnestly  that,  if  it  were  the  .Lord's  will,  He 
would  remove  it  Himself.  Three  weeks  ago,  to  her  amaze- 
ment, the  cataract  was  gone.  She  sent  for  Alexander,  the 
oculist,  who  was  to  have  extracted  it ;  and  he  said  that  it 
was  as  effectually  done  as  he  could  have  done  it ;  that  it 
was  a  case  almost  unprecedented,  but  had  been  done  by  a 
very  peculiar  action  of  the  muscles  of  the  eye  ;  so  the 
good  old  lady,  in  the  fulness  of  her  heart,  sent  this 
acknowledgment.  Being  so  long  an  Episcopalian,  she 
has  always  been  fond  of  praying  out  of  a  book ;  but,  as 
her  daughter  told  her,  she  did  not  find  in  her  book  a 
prayer  for  her  eye,  and  she  must  allow  that  it  has  been 
as  eff'ectual  as  any  she  ever  offered."  .    .   . 

"Hastings,  May  16,  1846. 
" .  .  .  At  present  I  am  husbanding  my  voice,  and  my 
time  is  divided  betwixt  books  and  sauntering  walks.  I 
feel  that  it  is  my  duty  for  the  present  to  be  idle  ;  but  I 
can  imagine  no  more  odious  combination  than  health  and 
idleness.     Within  three  doors  of  this  lives  the  rector  of 

,  an   empty,   indolent  man  ;    his  children  littering 

about  the  gravel,  and  himself  yawning  through  the  square 
all  day.  He  goes  in  a  fly  to  W —  on  Sunday  morning, 
'  does  duty,'  and  retvirns  in  the  evening.  When  I  see  this 
cumberer  of  the  ground,  I  am  apt  to  get  angry  at  myself 
for  doincj  nothing." 


294  BENEFICIAL  INFLUENCE 

"Bangor,  S-:pt.  8,  1846. 
"  Perhaps  I  am  too  fond  of  looking  forward,  and  yet 
whenever  I  feel  as  much  strength  as  I  have  felt  the  last 
few  days,  plans  and  purposes  about  the  future  revive  very 
strong  in  me.  There  are  two  portions  of  my  ministerial 
life  on  which  I  look  back  with  pleasure — the  twenty 
months  at  Abernyte,  and  the  four  years  at  Regent  Square, 
betwixt  January  1,  1842,  and  January  1,  1846,  that  is,  be- 
twixt the  publication  of  the  Church  in  the  House  and  the 
Mount  of  Olives  !  During  the  first  period  God  blessed  my 
preaching,  during  the  second  He  opened  up  a  new  path  of 
usefulness  through  the  press.  There  is  still  one  thing 
which  I  would  like  to  try,  if  the  Lord  permit.  I  would 
like  to  see  how  much  mioht  be  made  of  one  congregation. 
I  would  like  to  make  full  proof  of  my  pastorate.  I  am 
willing  to  give  myself  wholly  to  my  own  people  (at  least 
for  a  season),  and  by  preaching,  and  personal  intercourse, 
and  affectionate  dealing  with  young  and  old,  would  fain 
see  our  flock  a  holy  church — a  peculiar  people.  In  this 
work,  my  dearest  Annie,  I  shall  have  need  of  you.  Per- 
haps it  is  for  this  reason  that  hitherto  my  exertions  have 
been  wide- spread,  and  I  have  been  somewhat  of  a  public 
servant,  whilst  a  young  and  single  man.  And  now  when 
I  have  the  hope  of  leading  a  different  life,  these  pastoral 
and  home-keeping  feelings  occur  to  my  mind.  But  be  that 
as  it  may,  I  am  sure  that  it  is  a  great  advantage  to  one  who 
wishes  to  be  a  pastor  to  be  a  married  man,  especially  if  his 
wife  be  a  help-meet  for  him.  I  look  forward  to  the  day 
when  we  shall  have  schools  connected  with  the  cliurch, 
and  when   we  may  both  fill   up  an   liour   usefully  and 


OF  A  WELL-ORDERED  FAMILY.  295 

pleasantly  among  the  children,  and  by-and-bye  amongst 
the  parents.  And  though  hitherto  I  have  been  grievously 
disheartened  by  such  specimens  of  poverty  as  I  have  tried 
to  help,  I  would  not  abandon  the  hope  of  doing  something 
among  the  poor. 

"  I  hope,  too,  that  you  may  find  a  few  congenial  and 
estimable  friends  in  the  congregation.  ^  But  my  main 
hope  of  our  doing  good  in  our  new  capacity  is  by 
the  silent  influence  of  example, — by  being  'patterns  to 
the  flock'  of  what  married  people  should  be.  I  would 
like  our  house  and  all  our  arrangements  to  have  so  much 
order  without  stiffness ;  so  much  neatness,  without  expense 
or  show ;  that  the  quiet  comfort  and  Christian  simplicity 
of  our  home  should  be  itself  a  lesson.  I  rather,  I  fear, 
love  arrangement  and  method  in  other  people  than  ex- 
emplify it  myself ;  but  I  do  love  it,  and  often  think  of 
a  saying  of  Mr.  Martin  of  Westminster,  '  I  wish  to  re- 
member that  the  eye  of  God  is  in  each  drawer  of  my 
writing-table.'  I  love  it,  and  with  your  help,  dear  Annie, 
I  am  now  willing  to  make  an  effort  towards  its  practice. 
I  am  enlarging  beyond  my  intention ;  but  if  you  invite 
a  continuance  of  these  meditations,  I  will  go  on." 

"Festintog,  Sept.  22,  1846. 
"...  And  now  to  resume  our  meditations.  However 
retired  we  live,  the  minister's  family,  like  the  minister's 
self,  is  sure  to  be  the  subject  of  observation,  and  to  a 
certain  extent  this  is  natural,  and,  if  rightly  improved  by 
us,  may  be  rendered  useful,  for  we  should  be  patterns  to 
the  flock.    On  this  account  we  must  in  our  mode  of  living 


296  ECONOMICS. 

cultivate  plainness  and  simplicity.  "We  do  not  need  to 
give  parties,  and  this,  besides  saving  trouble  to  the  lady 
of  the  house,  saves  a  great  deal  of  useless  expenditure — 
useless,  because  nobody  is  the  more  esteemed  or  loved  for 
giving  a  gay  entertainment.  It  is  not  possible  to  live  in 
London  without  incurring  serious  outlay.  House-rent 
alone  has  hitherto  absorbed  a  fourth  of  my  income,  and 
for  cabs  and  omnibuses  I  spend  thirty  or  forty  pounds 
a  year,  besides  the  expense  of  more  distant  journeys. 
Since  coming  to  London  I  have  subdued  my  propensity 
to  book-buying,  but  still  a  minister  must  buy  books — 
they  are  the  implements  of  his  industry.  By  the  time 
that  the  requisite  household  and  personal  expenses  are 
defrayed,  there  cannot  much  remain  for  the  savings  bank. 
And  then  there  is  an  item  more  urgent  than  house-rent — 
I  mean  charity,  including  contributions  to  the  missionary 
and  other  schemes  of  the  Church.  I  do  not  think  that 
people's  comfort  depends  on  their  income.  That  income 
will  be  very  much  what  good  sense  and  self-denial  make 
it ;  and  as  you  have  both  of  these  qualities,  I  am  in  great 
hope  that  we  shall  hit  the  golden  mean  of  comfort  Muth- 
out  profusion,  and  simplicity  without  shabbiness.  Instead 
of  incurring  debt  or  exceeding  one's  income,  the  true 
wisdom  is  to  try  and  save,  though  it  were  only  twenty 
pounds  a  year.  A  saving  to  this  amount,  or  getting  into 
debt  to  this  amount,  makes  all  the  difference  between 
indigence  and  independence.  If  people  feel  that  they  are 
spending  all  their  revenue,  and  perhaps  a  little  more,  they 
have  no  heart  to  give  away  money,  and  very  little  enjoy- 
ment of  those  good  things  which  their  money  has  pro- 


FEMALE  CHARACTER.  297 

cured  for  them.     "We  shall  soon  see  wliat  we  are  about, 
and  must  shape  our  plans  accordingly. 

"  Dearest  Annie,   notwithstanding   your   invitation,   I 
am   almost   ashamed  to  go   on  in   this   strain,  as   if  I 
were   dictating    to    you,    or   telling    you   things    which 
you  had   not   thought   of  before,    some   of   which   dear 
mamma   is   better   able   to   expound   than    I   am.      But 
sometimes  it  is  useful  '  in  order  to  stir  up  the  mind  by 
way  of  remembrance,'  to  mark  down  those   things  the 
carrying  out  of  wdiich  in  daily  life  makes  a  useful  and 
respected  character.     I  will  therefore  add  one  more.     It 
is  the  ungallant  remark  of  Mr.  Jay, — '  If  the  Graces  were 
female,  so  were  the  Furies.'     There  is  one  slight  founda- 
tion for  the  remark.     I  do  think  that,  generally  speaking, 
ladies  are  more  sifting  in  their  criticisms  and  more  severe 
in  their  judgments,  more  apt  to  credit  an  unkind  report 
and  resent  a  wrong,  and  consequently  more  ready  to  fall 
into  little  sects  and  coteries,  than  are  gentlemen — (I  say 
'  generally  speaking,'  for  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  quote 
instances  of  female   generosity  and   forgiveness).      And 
this  perhaps  is  one  reason  for  what  has  sometimes  been 
remarked,  that  ministers  were  more  useful  before  their 
marriage  than  after  it.      Their  wives  were  gossips,  and 
listened  to    everybody's   story,  and  told  their  husbands 
what  this  one  and  that  other  had  been  heard  to  say  about 
him,  till  they  filled  the  poor  minister's  mind  with  preju- 
dices against  half  his  flock,  or  even  split  the  congregation 
into  little  sects  and  cliques,  till  the  minister's  heart  was 
chilled  and  his  usefulness  was  at  an  end. 

"  Kow   I   do   think    that    our   congregation    is    toler- 


298  TRAVELS  IN  WALES. 

ably  exempt  from  partisanship  and  evil- speaking,  but 
there  are  doubtless  different  ,^ets  of  people,  and  these 
by-and-bye  might  grow  into  sects.  Of  course  each 
would  like  to  reckon  the  minister's  wife  one  of  their 
set.  But  the  best  way  is  to  be  so  kind  to  all  as  to 
be  committed  to  none.  Some  will  be  so  good  and 
amiable  that  you  will  naturally  make  them  your  friends, 
but  they  must  give  you  their  friendship  without  insist- 
ing on  your  taking  up  their  antipathies ;  and  with  your 
natural  circumspection,  aided  by  the  wisdom  from  above, 
I  think  it  will  be  possible  for  you  to  walk  in  such  a  per- 
fect way  that  none  can  justly  call  you  cold,  and  yet 
none  be  able  to  claim  you  for  their  coterie.  These  are 
some  of  the  practical  duties  which  lie  before  us.  I 
am  glad  that  there  are  such.  It  is  in  this  way  that 
married  life  supplies  an  additional  means  of  glorifying 
God  and  fulfilling  His  will." 

"  Bellevtje  Hotel,  Aberystwith, 
Saturday  evening,  Sept.  26,  1846. 

"  My  DEAKEST  Annie, — The  equinox  brought  its  usual 
gales,  and  since  Tuesday  we  have  had  stormy  weather. 
On  Wednesday  and  Thursday  it  rained  so  much  that, 
except  to  witness  the  sublimest  of  stormy  sunsets  which 
I  ever  saw,  I  scarcely  ventured  out  of  doors  either  day. 
I  spent  the  time  in  reading  Hume's  History  of  England, 
and  going  over  the  passages  which  I  had  formerly  marked 
in  Foster's  Life.  It  is  not  so  much  the  books  which  one 
reads,  as  the  way  that  one  reads  them ;  and  though  it  is 
not  near  so  entertaining  to  travel  the  ground  a  second 
time  and  make  extracts  and  abstracts,  it  adds  fourfold  to 


GRANDEUR  OF  THE  OCEAN.         299 

the  value  of  the  first  perusaL  Some  of  this  sort  of  work 
I  compelled  myself  to  do  at  Festiniog.  Yesterday  after- 
noon it  cleared  up,  and  in  a  car  we  jogged  across  the 
mountains,  eighteen  miles  to  Dolgelly,  at  the  foot  of 
Cader-Idris,  which  we  did  not  reach  till  dark.  This 
morning  it  rained  so  terribly  that  we  all  thought  Dolgelly 
a  dismal-looking  place,  and  were  glad  to  take  inside 
places  in  the  coach  to  Aberystwith.  The  road  is  hilly, 
and  ours  was  the  slowest  coach  in  which  I  ever  travelled. 
It  took  more  than  seven  hours  to  thirty-five  miles ;  but 
he  was  a  good-natured  man  the  driver,  and  the  coach  and 
the  horses  were  his  own,  all  his  own, — for,  as  he  said  him- 
self, he  had  no  partner  but  his  wife,  and  as  he  was  anxious 
to  save  the  horses,  and  was  willing  to  let  me  down  to 
gather  mosses,  and  was  willing  to  stop  as  long  as  we 
pleased  in  the  village  where  we  changed,  nobodj'  could 
find  in  their  heart  to  be  angry.  I  saw  in  him  what  an 
impenetrable  coat  of  mail  good-nature  is,  for  though  I 
sometimes  felt  that  I  ought  to  scold  him,  I  am  sure  I 
never  spoke  to  him  without  a  smile  on  my  face.  .  .  . 
Oh,  dearest,  how  I  wish  I  had  you  here,  listening  to 
the  ocean's  billowy  psalm  !  It  is  dark,  very  dark,  and  I 
cannot  see  the  slender  moon  which  we  saw  last  night  like 
a  horn  of  silver  sinking  into  a  mountain  top ;  so  dark  is 
it  that  we  can  no  longer  make  out  those  long  foam-ridges 
which  we  watched  an  hom^  ago,  nor  see  the  spray  dashed 
far  over  the  reefs ;  but  the  darkness  makes  the  sound 
more  audible,  and  there  it  is  booming  and  rattling  and 
moaning  away,  just  as  the  billows,  and  the  shingle,  and 
the  distant  tempest  did  when  first  I  heard  their  anthem. 


300  MARRIAGE. 

Andrew  gets  in  ecstacies  beside  a  waterfall,  but  to  me 
there  is  no  grandeur  like  the  sea. 

"  I  was  counting — how  humbly  we  should  count,  and 
how  submissively  we  should  say,  '  If  the  Lord  will ' — but 
if  it  be  His  will,  I  was  counting  that  it  is  just  one  hundred 
days  from  this  to  that  other  day  which  I  have  so  long 
desired.  Over  how  many  obstacles  has  that  gracious 
Preserver  brought  me,  brought  us,  to  this  day !  And 
if  He  be  pleased  to  bring  us  to  that  other,  how  deeply 
bound  shall  we  be  to  consecrate  our  happier  lives  anew 
to  Him!" 

"  Hereford,  Tuesday  evening,  Sept.  29. 
"  On  Sabbath  we  heard  two  excellent  sermons  in  the 
parish  church.     The  vicar,  Mr.  Hughes,  is  a  good  old  man, 
and  being  this,  we  were  delighted  to  see  his  large  congre- 
gation.    Altogether,  we  enjoyed  last  Sabbath  greatly." 

Although  he  speaks  plainly  wlierever  an  example  of  in- 
dolence or  unfaithfulness  crosses  his  path,  his  eye  is  open 
to  see  good  in  the  Established  Church,  and  his  heart  to 
receive  it.  Indeed,  the  habitual  elevation  of  his  spirit 
towards  the  Head  kept  him  singularly  free  from  sectional 
prejudices. 

Mr.  Hamilton  was  married  at  Willenhall  on  5th  Januaiy 
1847. 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

1847-1849. 

Upon  his  return  to  London  late  in  1846,  with  his  health 
in  good  measure  restored,  Mr.  Hamilton  began  his  ministry 
with  renewed  earnestness.  During  his  enforced  silence 
he  had  considered  deeply  what  he  ought  to  say  if  his  lips 
should  again  be  opened.  At  once  he  began  to  execute  his 
long-cherished  plan  of  giving  some  lectures  on  the  evi- 
dences of  revealed  rehgion  at  the  ordinary  hour  of  pubhc 
worship  on  the  Lord's  day.  In  his  own  judgment  this 
was  a  service  which  the  Lord  required  of  him,  and  he 
loyally  rendered  it,  in  spite  of  formidable  difficulties  that 
crossed  his  path.  In  simplicity  of  heart,  and  with  a  far- 
reaching  purpose,  he  adopted  and  prosecuted  this  method 
as  the  best  contribution  it  was  in  his  power  to  make  for 
the  cause  of  the  Gospel.  There  is  no  question  at  all 
regarding  the  purity  of  his  aim  and  the  singleness  of  his 
eye  in  the  whole  transaction  ;  but  there  may  be  room  for 
doubt  as  to  the  soundness  of  his  judgment,  in  as  far  as, 
while  able  for  only  one  discourse  each  Sabbath,  he  sub- 
stituted for  a  time  an  argument  on  the  evidences  for  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  in  the  ordinary  way. 

"London,  Dec.  16,  1S46. 

«  My  dear  William,—  .  .  .  Though  I  preach  only  once 


302  COURSE  ON  THE  EVIDENCES. 

each  Sabbath,  yet  a  short  course  on  the  evidences  gives 
occasion  for  abundance  of  reading,  and  perhaps  more  care  - 
ful  composition,  than  ordinary  lectures.  I  have  delivered 
six  of  the  nine  which  I  originally  projected,  and  every 
Sabbath  that  passes  and  adds  one  to  the  series,  I  feel  so 
thankful.  I  hope  that  if  completed  they  will  do  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  good.  I  have  frequently  noticed  par- 
ticular hearers  much  impressed.  It  is  only  in  places  like 
this  that  such  a  course  is  hkely  to  be  useful,  or  indeed  would 
be  justifiable.  I  have  enjoyed  '  strong  consolation'  in  my 
own  soul  while  surveying  the  immoveable  foundations  of 
the  faith,  and  have  been  much  affected  by  the  kind  pro- 
vidence of  God  in  preserving  the  evidence  so  abundant 
and  entire." 

At  a  meeting  held  on  19th  January  1847,  the  first  full 
and  regular  report  of  the  congregation's  work  was  sub- 
mitted. It  is  an  able,  comprehensive,  and  instructive 
document.-^  Indeed  it  approaches  the  character  of  a  trea- 
tise on  educational  and  evangehstic  effort.  It  contains 
a  sketch  of  what  had  been  done  or  attempted  during  the 
two  preceding  years,  and  submits  bold  yet  wise  schemes 
for  the  future.  Although  not  much  is  said  of  the  mini- 
ster's own  department,  the  report  bears  evidence  that  his 
spirit  is  felt  in  the  centre  of  operations,  and  that  he  has 
already  gathered  around  himself  a  body  of  intelligent  and 
energetic  Christian  philanthropists. 

Besides  notices  of  the  mission  begun  in  Corfu,  and  the 

^  Drawn  up  by  Dr.  A.  P.  Stewart,  a  fellow-student  formerly  at  Glasgow, 
and  at  that  time  one  of  the  deacons  of  Regent  Square. 


^ 


CITY  MISSION  WOEK.  303 

mission  meditated  in  China,  it  goes  fully  and  heartily 
into  the  problem  regarding  the  degraded  condition  of  the 
masses  in  various  districts  of  the  city  of  London,  In 
certain  districts  contiguous  to  Eegent  Square  the  visitors 
discover  a  population  of  more  than  ten  thousand,  sunk  in 
poverty  and  ignorance  and  vice.  Schools  on  Sabbath  and 
on  week-days  are  forthwith  planted,  humble  at  first,  but 
rapidly  advancing  both  in  bulk  and  efficiency.  Mis- 
sionaries are  engaged,  and  paid  to  devote  their  whole 
strength  to  the  locality,  and  many,  both  of  men  and 
women,  contribute  their  own  personal  exertions.  Eed 
tape  is  finally  thrown  away,  and  a  raid  is  made  upon  the 
bush,  and  the  wild  things  that  find  cover  there,  without 
counting  cost  or  keeping  by  the  tracks  of  former  opera- 
tors. A  lady,  finding  that  to  teach  city  Arabs  for  an 
hour  on  Sunday  makes  little  impression  on  their  life, 
obtains  a  room  and  teaches  them  herself  on  the  week- 
days also.  The  missionary,  finding  no  opening  in  the 
morning  to  the  busy  adults,  fills  up  the  time  by  collecting 
a  class  of  children  who  are  employed  later  in  the  day,  and 
teaching  them  to  read  between  the  hours  of  nine  and 
eleven.  One  of  his  hopeful  scholars  is  a  little  girl,  whose 
brother  is  a  blind  fiddler.  He  needs  her  to  lead  him 
through  the  streets,  but  as  he  does  not  commence  the 
labours  of  his  calling  till  near  noon,  the  missionary  is 
welcome  to  teach  her  the  way  of  life  at  a  time  when  no 
other  use  can  be  made  of  her. 

For  some  years  at  that  period  their  lay  missionary,  Mr. 
Sinclair,  in  a  simple  but  wise  and  inventive  way,  rendered 
effective  service  on  that  difficult  field. 


304  YOUNG  men's  association. 

We  learn  incidentally  that  after  ]\Ir.  Hamilton's  settle- 
ment a  great  increase  took  place  in  the  number  of  the 
Sabbath- school  teachers;  and,  as  encouragement  to  attend- 
ance at  certain  monthly  meetings,  it  is  intimated  that 
"Mr.  Ham.iltou  will  deliver  a  missionary  address;"  but 
instead  of  doing,  or  seeming  to  do,  aU  himself,  the  com- 
parative silence  regarding  his  work  maintained  in  the 
report  accords  to  him  the  greater  praise  of  inducing  many 
to  consecrate  their  talents  in  concert  to  the  work  of  the 
Lord. 

Among  other  departments  of  the  congregation's  wide- 
spread agency,  the  Young  Men's  Association  is  specially 
mentioned.  It  was  first  constituted  on  2  2d  September 
1841,  and  the  date  of  its  birth  reveals  the  influence  with 
wliich  it  originated.  This  association  has  continued  in 
vigour  till  this  day,  and  has  exercised  a  beneficent  in- 
fluence on  a  generation.  Affectionate  reference  is  made 
to  members  who  even  at  that  early  stage  had  left  the  city 
for  other  spheres  of  duty,  and  specifically  to  Mr.  Alexander 
Swan,  one  of  their  number,  who  had  lately  settled  at 
Folkestone,  as  superintendent  of  the  engineering  works  of 
the  Continental  Steam-Packet  Company,  and  whose  in- 
fluence had  already  been  successfully  employed  in  dimin- 
ishing the  amount  of  Sabbath  labour  in  the  affairs  of  a 
great  mercantile  copartnery. 

From  this  time  forward  a  full  report  of  congregational 
work  was  prepared  and  printed  annually.  Tlie  series 
amounts  now  to  two  goodly  volumes,  and  constitutes  a 
noble  monument  of  intelligent,  energetic,  and  patient 
Christian  work  for  the  age  and  for  its  great  metropolis. 


CHRISTIAN  APOLOGETICS.  3  05 

"7  Lansdowne  Place,  Jan.  25,  1847. 
"My  dear  Mamma, —  .   .   .   This   last  week  I  heard 
of  six  instances  of  good   done    by  the  Lectures  on  the 
Evidences."    .    .   . 

About  this  time  he  manifested  an  unwonted  tendency 
to  defend  his  own  course  as  to  the  character  of  the  lec- 
tures which  he  addressed  to  the  congregation  on  the 
Lord's  day.  It  may  be  frankly  confessed  that  he  was 
thrown  into  an  attitude  of  defence  by  adverse  judgments 
which  reached  him  from  many  quarters.  Among  others, 
the  late  eminently  amiable  and  pious  Duchess  of  Gordon 
pronounced  rigorously  against  him.  Having  come  to 
Eegent  Square  one  Sabbath,  according  to  her  wont  when 
in  London,  she  was  shocked  to  find  that  the  time  was 
occupied  with  criticism  of  ancient  manuscripts  and  quota- 
tions from  the  early  fathers,  instead  of  the  usual  procla- 
mation of  mercy  to  sinners  through  the  blood  of  Christ. 
Her  opinion  was  conveyed  to  the  minister,  whether  by 
letter  or  through  the  report  of  a  third  party,  I  do  not 
remember.  "Without  abandoning  his  own  judgment,  he 
was  always  ready  to  explain  the  grounds  on  which  it 
rested.  Accordingly  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Duchess, 
containing  a  full  exposition  of  his  views.  He  showed  that 
he  remained  of  the  same  mind  as  formerly  regarding  the 
one  way  of  salvation,  and  that,  in  the  course  to  which  she 
objected,  he  was,  according  to  his  best  judgment,  becoming 
all  things  to  all  men  that  he  might  gain  some.  His 
remark  to  a  friend  afterwards  was,  "  The  good  Duchess 
never  answered  me,  and  the  good  Duchess  never  returned 
to  Eegent  Square," 

U 


30G  CHRISTIAN  APOLOGETICS. 

It  was  a  case  in  which  persons  equally  sound  in  the 
faith,  but  providentially  led  by  different  paths,  and  look- 
ing on  the  world  from  different  view-points,  formed  diverse 
conclusions  regarding  the  expediency  of  a  specific  course, 
and  of  its  fitness  to  promote  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  For 
our  own  part,  we  love  the  Duchess  none  the  less,  that,  hav- 
ing no  need  of  more  argument  for  the  confirmation  of  her 
faith,  she  was  unwilling  to  spend  even  one  Sabbath  in 
listening  to  the  reasonings  which  might  convince  the  gain- 
sayer  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  we  the  more  regard  James 
Hamilton  as  an  able  minister  of  the  New  Testament,  that, 
knowing  the  stability  which  a  consideration  of  the  evi- 
dences imparted  to  his  own  mind,  he  sympathized  with 
honest  doubts  and  grieved  over  flippant  unbelief,  and  so 
dared,  contrary  to  the  usual  routine,  to  meet  the  wants  of 
a  class  in  London  whose  souls  were  precious,  and  were  in 
special  danger  of  being  led  astray. 

The  result  was,  as  might  indeed  have  been  predicted 
from  the  nature  of  the  case,  that  he  received  more  of 
articulate  and  emphatic  approval,  and  also  more  of  articu- 
late and  emphatic  condemnation,  of  this  course  of  lectures, 
than  of  any  other  course  in  the  exercise  of  his  ministry. 

"7  Lansdowne  Plack,  April  2,  1847. 

"  My  dear  William, —  .  .  .  This  is  Good  Friday,  a  nice, 
quiet  day  for  study.  No  visitors.  The  town  quiet,  like 
the  country.  Nothing  open  except  Episcopal  churches, 
bakers'  shops  and  fishmongers' — the  latter  for  the  sale  of 
hot-  cross  buns  and  salt  fish,  all  three,  churches,  buns,  and 
fish,  being  alike  means  of  grace  in  the  eyes  of  many  people 


CAMOENS'  "  LUSIAD."  307 

here.  I  have  read  a  good  piece  of  Simeon's  Life.  At  Dr. 
Hanna's  request,  I  think  I  shall  make  it  the  foundation  of 
a  paper  for  the  North  British.  It  is  very  delightful  to  go 
back  to  those  fresli  days  and  fervent  spirits. — Your  ever 
affectionate  brother,  James  Hamilton." 

The  paper  on  "  Simeon  and  Ms  Predecessors,"  or  rather, 
as  it  might  with  greater  accuracy  have  been  designated, 
"  His  Predecessors  and  Simeon,"  appeared  in  due  time  in 
the  North  British  Revieio.  It  is  one  of  the  freshest  and 
most  vigorous  of  his  essays, — a  prose  poem  on  a  great 
spiritual  struggle  and  revival. 

"London,  Ajml  26,  1847. 

"  My  dear  Andeew, —  ...  Our  Synod  met  on  Tues- 
day. Arnot  was  unanimously  chosen  Professor  of  Divinity. 
I  do  not  know  whether  he  will  accept.  Wm.  C.  Burns 
was  present,  declared  his  willingness  to  go  to  China,  and 
when  asked  when  he  would  be  ready,  answered,  'To- 
morrow. I  have  all  my  things  with  me,  and  would  rather 
go  at  once.'  Accordingly  he  was,  after  the  precedent  of 
Acts  xiii.,  set  apart  to  the  work  on  the  morrow,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  London,  where  he  is  now. 

"A  new  edition  of  Camoens'  Lusiacl  (Portuguese), 
noticed  in  last  Athenmuvt,  brought  twenty  years  ago  to 
remembrance.  I  read  it  then  in  a  huge  quarto  translation, 
and  remember  nothing  but  one  thing,  a  voyage.  Indeed, 
a  very  slight  effort  of  fancy  will  transform  tliat  Eussia- 
leather  quarto  any  day  into  an  old-fashioned  galley  with 
every  sail  spread,  heaving  slowly  along  over  a  surging  sea. 


308  WILLIAM  BURNS. 

However,  it  is  something  if  one  get  a  single  idea  from 
each  book  one  reads,  or  eacli  town  one  visits.  From  Sun- 
derland I  carried  notliing  aw^ay  but  its  lofty  bridge  of 
iron,  with  the  ships  far  below  it.  Were  Turner  standing 
on  that  bridge  some  evening,  and  letting  his  eyes  dazzle 
into  luxurious  indistinctness,  he  might  make  of  the  long 
lines  of  craft,  and  the  forest  of  masts  seen  from  above,  and 
the  rippled  water,  one  of  those  mysterious  and  unfathom- 
able pictures  which  you  never  can  make  out  entirely,  and 
are  compelled  to  look  at  notwithstanding.  The  best  of 
Wordsworth's  poetry  seems  to  me  analogous  to  Turner's 
painting." 

The  appointment  of  Mr.  William  Burns  as  the  S}Tiod's 
Missionary  to  China  was  a  great  event,  and  would  appear 
OTcat  if  we  could  see  it  from  the  other  side.  As  a  fellow- 
student,  I  am  in  a  position  to  bear  witness  that  he  pos- 
sessed a  strong,  manly  intellect,  and  had  acquired  stores 
of  exact  learning.  But  these  and  all  other  things  were 
in  his  case  so  completely  subordinated  to  his  zeal  for 
Christ's  kingdom  in  the  world,  that  they  were  not  per- 
mitted to  appear.  Not  more  than  two  or  three,  if  any, 
missionaries  in  modern  times  have  equalled  him  in  eleva- 
tion above  the  earth,  and  absolute  devotion  to  the  risen 
Eedeemer's  wish  and  will.  The  Sj)irit  dwelt  in  William 
Burns  with  a  sort  of  Pentecostal  power,  carrying  him  away 
as  by  a  rushing,  mighty  wind.  Only  the  day  shall  de- 
clare his  work ;  for,  of  all  missionaries,  he  was  the  most 
reticent.  In  China,  long  before  the  country  was  oi:)ened 
by  treaty,  he  deliberately  abandoned  his  base  on  the  sea 


"  QUITTING  THE  MANSE."  309 

and  plimged  alone  into  the  heart  of  the  country,  dressing, 
and  eating,  and  speaking  like  the  natives,  that  he  might 
win  them  to  Christ.  We  shall  hear  of  tliis  mission  from 
time  to  time,  as  our  narrative  proceeds.  Mr.  Hamilton 
Imd  charge  of  it,  as  convener  of  committee,  from  its  com- 
mencement till  the  period  of  his  own  death. 

"  7  Laxsdovtn'E  Pla'ce,  May  14,  1847. 
"My  dear  ]Mamma, — K  not  to-morrow,  at  least  on 
jNIonda}',  we  hope  to  hear  of  your  safe  arrival  We  both 
miss  you  very  much.  The  house  is  not  the  same  without 
you,  and  people  pity  two  helpless  young  creatures  like  us 
left  to  ourselves.  On  AVednesday  we  went  to  the  Eoyal 
Academy  Exliibition  to  console  ourselves.  There  is  a 
capital  picture  there  by  Harvey  of  Edinburgh,—"  Quitting 
the  Manse."  We  recognised  a  good  many  likenesses, — 
Mr.  Bruce,  Fox  Maule,  Campbell  of  Monzie,  etc.  This 
morning  I  breakfasted  with  Dr.  Chalmers.  Isaac  Taylor, 
IMorell,  your  metaphysical  acquaintance,  and  Baptist  Xoel 
were  there.  By  the  days  of  the  week  it  is  twenty 
years  since  the  Doctor  opened  Eegent  Square  (Friday, 
May  11,  1827),  so  the  talk  was  mostly  about  E.  Irving. 
Mr.  Taylor's  view  of  his  character  was  very  just,  and 
many  interesting  things  were  said  and  told. — Ever  your 
affectionate  son,  James  Hamilton." 


TO  ME.  ARNOT. 

"  My  dear  Friend,— Very  possibly  it  may  end  in  my 
coming  to  Glasgow  after  all ;  but  there  are  some  reasons 


310       IMPORTANCE  OF  PRESBYTERIAX  COLLEGE. 

why  I  would  prefer  remaining  here,  e.g.,  the  exj^ense,  my 
lothness  to  leave  home  after  repeated  and  lengthened 
absenteeism,  my  having  promised  an  article  to  the  North 
British,  which,  in  that  event,  I  could  not  write.  Nor  do  I 
really  think  it  will  be  needful  Surely  when  you  get  to  a 
standing-point  high  enough,  and  see  the  vastness  of  this 
opportunity,  you  will  make  up  your  mind  so  resolutely 
that  no  urgency  will  be  able  to  detain  you.  Here  it  is.  A 
vitalized  Presbyterian  ism  might,  under  God,  be  the  present 
salvation  of  England.  I  have  no  security  about  the 
English  Establishment.  If  things  go  on  as  at  present,  in 
twenty  years  its  rulers  will  not  endure  sound  doctrine. 
There  will  be  no  place  found  for  Evangelism  within  its 
pale.  .  .  .  There  is  a  very  considerable  craving  for  Eree 
Church  preaching,  a  craving  which  a  little  more  strength 
in  our  Church,  and  a  little  less  stiffness  in  our  ministers, 
might  convert  into  a  perfect  rage.  But  the  power  of  our 
Church,  both  to  create  and  meet  this  demand,  resides  in 
the  college.  I  only  repeat  that  it  is  a  vitalized  Presbyte- 
rianism,  sound  doctrine  in  warm  English  hearts,  and  from 
fluent  English  lips,  guided  by  Scottish  sense,  and  systema- 
tically jjropagated  by  Presbyterian  organization,  which 
promises,  in  the  hand  of  the  quickening  Spirit,  to  retrieve 
the  interests  of  Evangelical  piety  in  England. 

"  Now,  my  dear  Arnot,  you  have  open  eyes,  and  a  fresh 
and  active  mind,  and  power  of  adapting  to  circumstances. 
If  you  were  here,  you  would  soon  see  how  tlie  land  lies, 
and  what  the  present  exigencies  of  this  England  are, 
and  you  would  train  and  instruct  our  students  accord- 
ingly. .  .  . 


i-REE  CHURCH  FAILS  TO  SUPPLY  COLLEGE.        311 

"  I  know  that  you  will  not  foimd  a  new  school  in  theo- 
logy, but  I  believe  that  you  wiU  put  new  life  in  the  old 
one.  And  I  firmly  believe,  if  you  come  here  in  high 
heart  and  hope,  and  with  a  two  years'  stock  of  patience, 
that  you  will  be  blessed  by  God  to  render  a  most  signal 
service  to  the  Christianity  of  this  empire. 

"  Send  me  a  line,  and  if  your  path  is  not  plain  I  wiU  try 
to  come  down  ;  but  oh  !  how  thankful  I  would  be  to  hear 
that  your  doubts  were  ended." 

"  Ma>l  26(71. 

"  I  wish  you  could  have  considered  this  question  in  the 
dispassionate  atmosphere  of  London,  or  at  all  events  on 
the  neutral  territory  of  the  border.  You  must  make  a 
great  aUowanee  for  the  deflection  of  the  pendulum  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  such  a  Schehalhon  as  St.  Peter's.   .  .  . 

"  Dr.  Chalmers  has  no  doubt  that  a  regard  for  wider 
interests  requires  you  to  come  to  us.  He  said  so  to  a 
friend  of  mine." 

I  cannot  now  form  a  judgment  on  the  question  how  far 
]\Ir.  Hamilton's  ardent  anticipations  of  spiritual  benefit  to 
Eno-land  would  have  been  fulfilled  if  the  Free  Church  and 
licr  individual  ministers  had  at  that  period  heartily  re- 
sponded to  his  call,  and  fully  equipped  the  college  and 
the  principal  churches  in  the  south  :  but  any  one  can 
judge  easily  and  surely  that  his  advocacy  does  him  the 
highest  honour. 

This  attempt,  like  many  of  those  which  preceded  it, 
failed  not  from  an  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the  minister 


312      FREE  CHURCH  FAILS  TO  SUPPLY  COLLEGE. 

who  was  called,  but  because  the  Presbytery  that  judged 
in  the  case  gave  all  their  moral  influence  against  it,  and 
refused  to  share  in  any  degree  the  responsibility  of  the 
translation.^ 

"London,  Jubj  IG,  1S47. 

"  My  deak  Andrew, — For  some  days  I  have  been  very 
anxious  to  write,  as  you  might  be  thinking  it  long,  but  I 
have  been  sadly  hindered.  The  first  week  of  June,  as  you 
know,  was  devoted  to  Glasgow  and  Arnot.  The  tliird 
week  was  occupied  by  Dr.  Candlish  and  others,  who  had 
come  up  as  a  deputation  for  the  Free  Church  Missions.  Last 
week  I  had  to  go  to  Liverpool,  on  an  errand  of  the  Synod, 
and  I  have  had  more  than  usual  work  visiting  among  the 
people,  as  well  as  more  fatigue,  having  resumed  two 
sermons  on  Sabbath.  Amidst  all  this,  I  have  been  strug- 
gling to  get  ready  two  articles  for  the  North  British,— owq 
on  Simeon  and  his  predecessors,  the  other  on  Dr.  Chalmers. 
But  I  have  found  it  very  difficult,  for  I  went  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  neglecting  no  invalid,  no  committee,  no  work, 
which  I  should  otherwise  have  done,  and  have  been  obliged 
to  rise  early,  and  take  refuge  sometimes  in  the  church. 
To-day,  having  sent  off  the  second  proof,  I  feel  quite 
relieved,  and  give  my  emancipated  pen  to  you. 

"Being  disappointed  of  Arnot,  our  College  Committee 
has  turned  its  thoughts  to  your  present  neighbour,  INIerle 
d'Aubigne.     Last  w^eek  I  wrote  to  him,  and,  unless  he  puts 

1  The  Presbytery  of  Glasgow  refused,  on  tcclniical  grounds,  to  permit  an 
appeal  to  the  Assembly,  although  both  the  English  commissioners  and  the 
minister  whom  they  had  called  pleaded  for  that  favour,  in  order  to  obtain 
the  deliberate  judgment  of  the  Church. 


PROPOSAL  TO  INVITE  MERLE  d'aUBIGNE.  313 

a  peremptory  veto  on  it,  we  will  likely  send  liim  a  deputa- 
tion of  one  or  two.  To  me,  there  is  nothing  chimerical  in 
the  proposal.  He  knows  English.  He  would  have  the 
command  of  abundant  libraries.  We  would  do  everything 
to  make  him  comfortable.  He  would  have  the  half  of 
every  year  for  study.  He  would  be  attended  by  many 
who  do  not  mean  to  become  Presbyterian  ministers.  He 
would  be  in  a  condition  to  put  the  staipp  and  impress 
on  a  rising  church  which  he  deemed  most  Christian  and 
evangelical.  It  is  very  likely  that  the  Free  Church  will 
invite  Dr.  Duff  to  succeed  Dr.  Chalmers.  I  have  also 
heard  some  hint  of  their  trying  Merle  d'Aubigne,  but  I 
sincerely  think  he  would  bestow  himself  much  better  on 
us  than  on  Scotland.  He  might  mould  us,  but  Scotland 
is  so  strong  that  no  individual  can  be  much  else  than  what 
the  Free  Church  is.  I  enclose  a  note  to  Dr.  Merle,  but  by 
this  time  you  have  probably  met  him.  Eoss  of  Brighton 
gets  on  admirably.  His  church  is  filling.  He  published 
a  funeral  sermon  for  Dr.  Chalmers  (one  of  ten  which  I 
liave  seen  advertised),  really  able  and  original :  along  with 
J.  INIacaulay,  he  dined  with  us  on  Wednesday,  and  came 
out  very  racy.  He  knows  Carlyle  ;  and  I  think  has  a 
slight  infusion.  I  charged  him  with  it,  but  he  disowns  it. 
He  and  Welsh  of  Liverpool  are  our  most  powerful  men. 
The  Eiver  Terrace  people  have  called  ]\Ir.  Weir  of  Belfast, 
and  he  will  be  settled  in  a  fortnight.  James  Stewart  was 
licensed  at  last  Presbytery. 

"You  are  much  to  be  envied  at  actual  Geneva,  the 
'  Mother  dear  Jerusalem '  of  John  Knox's  Scotland,  and 
Beza's  home,  besides  all  your  lettered  friends,  Piousseau, 


314  GENEVA. 

De  Stael,  Gibbon,  Byron,  Shelley.  For  me,  Vinet  seems 
the  finest  thinker,  most  evangelical,  yet  fresh,  on  all  the 
Continent.  I  should  like  much  that  his  life  were  written. 
Dr.  Wilson  of  Bombay  is  about  to  proceed  up  the  PJiine, 
and  pass  your  way,  most  likely,  on  the  route  to  India. 
Perhaps  you  may  forgather.  He  has  published  two  thick 
volumes  of  Eastern  travel.  He  is  really  one  of  Bacon's 
'  full '  men,  brimming  with  information  and  communica- 
tive alacrity.  Have  you  been  to  hear  the  Eanz  des 
Vaclies  ?  or  to  eat  a  glacier  ?  (with  us,  has  been  a  week 
of  torrid  weather,  ice- suggesting)  or  drink  milk  in  a 
mountain  chalet  ?  I  enjoyed  both  your  Abbey  rapture 
and  (though  second-hand,  via  Stouehouse)  your  ascent  of 
the  Drachenfels." 

TO  MR.  W.  HAMILTON. 

"E,YDE,  August  27,  1847. 

"  I  see  in  the  present  state  of  matters  few  symptoms  of 
progress  and  denominational  enlargement.  Collectively 
we  are  wanting  in  that  ardour  and  disinterestedness  and 
unity  of  purpose  which  are  essential  to  a  rising  and 
triumphant  cause.   .    ,   . 

"  As  for  the  idea  of  my  giving  lectures,  even  if  I  were 
to  be  stronger  this  winter  than  I  have  ever  been,  I  would 
not  attempt  it.  I  want  to  preach.  Hitherto  it  has  been 
my  fault  to  dabble  in  too  many  things,  and  the  pulpit 
has  not  got  justice.     I  wish  to  do  my  very  utmost  there 

before  I  die." 

"  Eyde,  I.  OF  Wight,  Aug.  28,  1847. 
"  On  the  25th  of  October  I  resumed  my  work,  preaching 
tiU  the  bcuinning  of  sunnner  only  the  half  of  each  Sabbath. 


RETROSPECT  REGAFvDlNG  APOLOGETIC  LECTURES.   315 

In  pursuance  of  my  plan,  and  after  asking  wisdom  from 
above,  I  gave  a  short  course  of  eight   lectm^es  on  the 
Evidences  as  the  commencement  of  my  new  curriculum. 
I  told  the  reasons  for  my  doing  it,  and,  as  some  of  the 
lectures  might  have  a  more  secular  sound  than  was  usual 
in   our   Sabbath-day  discourses,   and   as   they  might   be 
superfluous  to  those  who  were  fully  persuaded  in  their 
own  minds,  I  entreated  beforehand  the  forbearance  of  the 
members  of  the  church,  and  begged  their  prayers  that  God 
would  bless  them  to  the  conviction  and  instruction  of 
those  young  men  and  undecided  persons  for  whom  they 
were  especially  intended.     And  in  order  more  effectually 
to  obviate   prejudice,   I  put   into  the  lectures  as  much 
essential  truth  as  I  could,  and  tried  to  make  the  landing- 
place  of  each  the  direct  Gospel.      But  they  were  not  '  the 
good  old   thing.'      They  were   fresh,  and   they  required 
attention.     They  made  the  historic  truth  too  vivid,  and 
they  disturbed  the  perfunctory  class  who   love  to  take 
things  for  granted.     I  could  read  discontent  on  the  face  of 
the  congregation,  and  though  I  worked  at  them  as  hard 
as  I  could,  the  complaints  and  murmurings  which  daily 
reached  me  made  it  up-hill  work.     Some  of  the  most 
pious  hearers  absented  themselves  from  church  till  this 
heathenish  course  should  be  ended,  and  I  was  told  that  if 
I  persisted  I  should  disperse  the  congregation.    ...    I 
know  that  Mr.  Hamilton  took  my  part  against  others  who 
censured,  but  I  believe  that  both  he  and  Mr,  Gillespie 
(who  were  too  kind  to  say  anything  against  them)  were 
heartily  glad  when  they  were  done.     Except  my  mother 
and  a  few  of  the  deacons,  I  do  not  recollect  one  voice  of 


316  M'CHEYNE  AND  BURNS. 

positive  approval  and  encouragement,  and  had  it  not  been 
for  a  firm  conviction  of  duty  I  could  not  have  gone  on. 
Had  the  course  been  printed,  I  might  have  called  the  book 
Benoni. 

"  I  still  believe  I  was  right.  At  a  subsequent  com- 
munion several  of  the  candidates  proved  to  be  the  fruits 
of  this  series.  And  by-and-bye  I  heard  of  some  intelligent 
families  who  liad  in  consequence  taken  seats  in  the  church  ; 
and  for  these  tokens  of  approbation  I  felt  unusually 
thankful.  This  experiment  has  taught  me  a  good  deal. 
.  .  .  Even  those  who  have  been  led  into  some  know- 
ledge of  the  truth  have  no  patience  for  the  process  by 
which  their  minister  seeks  to  lead  others  into  it. 

"  I  cannot  say  that  this  experiment  has  abated  my  love 
for  my  people.  Eobert  M'Cheyne  told  me  that  when  he 
came  back  from  Palestine,  many  of  the  people  were  dis- 
appointed at  his  return.  They  would  rather  have  had 
William  Burns.  His  sin  had  been  to  idolize  his  congre- 
gation, and  he  felt  their  estrangement  a  rebuke  from  God. 
In  a  different  way,  I  had  idoUzed  Eegent  Square.  They 
had  contributed  so  largely  to  the  Free  Church  Building 
Fund,  and  done  so  many  things  of  which  I  was  proud, 
and  I  gave  them  credit  for  tolerance  and  enlargement  of 
mind  beyond  most  congregations.  I  was  sure  of  their  love, 
and  was  conscious  of  a  yearning  affection  towards  them, 
and  felt  that  with  them  I  might  venture  ahnost  anything." 

"Ryde,  Aug.  30,  1S47. 
"  What  goodness  and  mercy  have  met  me  since  I  wrote 
the  first  hues  of  this  httle  book  at  Bangor  a  year  ago  !     I 


"  EMBLEMS  FEOM  EDEN."  317 

tlien  crept  about  a  pensive  invalid,  not  knowing  whether 
my  earthly  desire  should  ever  be  fulfilled,  and  whether  I 
should  be  restored  to  my  work  and  people  again. 

"  On  the  5th  of  January  that  desire  was  fulfilled,  and 
Annie  became  my  OAvn.  Already  eight  months  of  new 
and  pecuhar  happiness  have  passed,  and  the  longer  we 
live  the  more  our  minds  grow  into  one  another. 

"  And  for  more  than  nine  months  I  have  preached  about 
every  Sabbath,  and  some  Sabbaths  twice. 

"Besides  which,  I  have  published  four  tracts — China, 
and  The  Vine,  Cedar,  and  Palm,  the  sermon  after  Mr. 
Wilson's  funeral  (he  was  in  full  vigour  when  I  thought 
myself  dying),  and  two  articles  in  the  North  British 
Review,  to  which  I  may  add  a  sketch  of  Matthew  Henry, 
written  since  coming  here. 

"  Heavenly  Father,  how  can  I  sufficiently  magnify  Thy 
mercy  to  a  sinful  worm  !  Thou  knowest  my  foohshness, 
and  though  pride  and  vanity  would  often  overrate  my 
importance  to  my  fellow-mortals,  I  know  that  my  good- 
ness extendeth  not  to  Thee.  Let  my  own  vileness  make  me 
humble,  and  Thy  munificence  make  me  thankful.  And 
should  I  be  longer  spared,  sanctify  and  kindle  me  into  a 
living  sacrifice." 

The  tale  of  work  for  the  press  this  year  does  not  bulk 
so  largely ;  but  its  quahty  quite  sustained  his  character. 
The  tract  on  China  was  the  right  word,  spoken  at  the 
right  time.  It  filled  a  blank  and  exerted  a  power.  An 
interest  in  that  vast  and  mysterious  empire  had  begun  to 
spring  up  in  the  country,  but  information  regarding  its 


318  "emblems  from  EDEN." 

condition  was  very  scanty.  Hamilton  possessed  the  rare 
and  useful  faculty  of  observing  exactly  where  the  want 
lay  and  Avhat  would  supply  it ;  then  his  stores  of  miscel- 
laneous knowledge  and  his  ready  pen  were  at  hand  to  deal 
the  appropriate  blow  at  the  appropriate  moment.  His 
tract  was,  like  all  the  products  of  his  pen,  graphic  and 
lively ;  it  was  greedily  read,  and  it  did  much  to  popularize 
and  spread  whatever  authentic  information  was  at  that 
time  accessible  regarding  China  as  a  field  for  Christian 
missions.  The  subjects  with  which  it  deals  have  now 
become  familiar ;  but  at  the  time  of  its  publication  the  long 
closed  gates  of  that  distant  and  dark  realm  were  only  about 
to  be  opened  to  the  commerce  and  Christianity  of  the  west. 
The  Vine,  The  Cedar,  and  The  Palm  were  a  series  of 
religious  tracts.  They  were  written  with  the  view  of  pre- 
senting the  gospel  in  a  form  attractive  alike  to  common 
people,  and  to  the  cultivated  classes.  As  the  names  imply, 
each  tractate  endeavoured  to  suspend  the  doctrines  of  grace 
upon  a  parallel  from  nature — as  forest  trees  are  pressed  into 
service  to  sustain  the  feeble  but  fruitful  branches  of  the  vine. 
Several  of  them  have  been  translated  into  two  or  more 
European  languages,  including  Dutch  and  Swedish,  where 
through  a  revived  evangelism  a  demand  for  such  literature 
arose.  These,  with  some  others  of  kindred  character, 
were  afterwards  pubhshed  as  a  volume,  under  the  general 
title  Emhlems  from  Eden,  and  are  included  in  the  uniform 
edition  of  his  works. 

"Ryde,  Sept.  1,  1847. 
"  j\Iy  dear  Willia^t, —   ...    I  mean  to  act  more  on 
your  advice  hereafter.     I  am  quite  satisfied  with  the  course 


OIL  OK  TROUBLED  WATERS.  319 

I  have  hitherto  pursued,  as  a  thing  past,  but  hereafter  I 
shall  accept  whatever  remuneration  is  offered  me  for  any- 
thing I  may  write.  I  got  £30  for  my  papers  in  the  last 
Nm^th  British.  I  read  Foster's  Life  at  Ems,  and  marked 
a  great  many  memorabilia.  But  I  had  not  the  enjoyment 
of  Foster  personally  that  I  have  had  of  Arnold  and 
Eomilly  and  some  others  whose  lives  I  have  read  with  a 
consciousness  of  congeniality.  There  are  few  more  read- 
able compositions  than  Macaulay's  contributions  to  the 
Edinburgh  Eevieiv.  I  was  at  a  volume  this  week,  but 
their  moral  tone  is  low.  I  have  been  much  struck  by  a 
very  original  poem,  Festus,  by  Bailey,  who  was  my  coeval 
in  the  logic  class  at  Glasgow. 

"  Vestry  op  Mr.  Ferguson's  Church, 
Liverpool,  Oct.  G,  1847. 

"My  deakest  Annie,— 'Let  dogs  delight,'  etc.,  would 
be  a  good  hymn  with  which  to  open  the  Lancashire  Pres- 
bytery meetings.  We  have  been  occupied  for  hours  trying 
to  restore  peace  and  harmony  in  this  quarrelsome  body. 
It  is  a  pity,  for  they  are  all  good  men,  but  ill  assorted. — 
Your  ever  afiectionate  husband,  James  Hamilton." 

Let  the  playful  tone  of  this  remark  pass  in  considera- 
tion of  the  quarter  to  which  it  is  addressed ;  but  its  sub- 
stance may  remain  as  a  lesson  to  aU  whom  it  may  concern. 
In  these  matters  it  is  certain  that  James  Hamilton  did 
not  claim  for  himself  a  license  which  he  reproved  in  others. 
It  is  the  testimony  of  survivors  that  one  of  the  great 
benefits  that  the  Church  derived  from  his  talents  and 
character,  consisted  in  the  soothing  and  healing  influence 


320     PROJECT  OF  SERMONS  TO  VARIOUS  CLASSES. 

of  his  presence  in  Cluircli  Courts.  He  was  watchful  and 
skilful  to  interpose  with  something  both  good-humoured 
and  humorous  whenever  he  perceived  that  zeal  was  threat- 
ening unawares  to  grow  too  warm.  His  peculiar  grave 
playfulness  was  an  admirable  non-conductor,  keeping  spark 
asunder  from  spark,  and  so  preventing  a  conflagration, 

"London,  Oct.  22,  1847. 
"  My  dear  AVilliam,—  ...  I  have  got  a  premature 
copy  of  the  first  volume  of  Dr.  Chalmers  (Memoir  by  Dr. 
Hanna),  and  have  read  enough  to  feel  that  all  is  right  and 
safe,  and  that  the  book  will  add  to  the  Church's  wealth  and 
his  own  renown." 

"October  2G,  1847.— The  month  of  September  was  de- 
voted to  a  course  of  sermons  on  Philippi,  i.e.,  Lydia  and 
the  jailer.  A  blessing  seemed  to  attend  them.  Frequently 
the  people  listened  with  solemnity,  and  several  have  since 
opened  their  minds  and  expressed  their  anxiety  about 
their  souls. 

"I  have  in  contemplation  a  course  of  lectures  on  the 
application  of  Christianity  to  the  various  ranks  and  pro- 
fessions of  life, — teacher,  merchant,  labourer,  servant,  etc., 
in  which  I  may  use  up  my  reading  in  Christian  biography, 
the  department  of  Christian  literature  with  which  I  am 
best  acquainted. 

"  At  present  I  am  happy.  The  ministry  is  not  without 
tokens  of  God's  approval  and  presence.  The  prayer-meet- 
ing last  niglit  was  excellently  attended,  and  I  was  much 
affected  by  Mr.  Webster's  prayer  and  Mr.  Eobertson's. 
Mr.  N'isbet  presided.     Ten  days  ago  we  paid  a  pleasant 


EARLY  HOURS.  321 

visit  to  Mr.  Thomson  at  Haysden.  Yesterday  passed  a 
delightful  hour  with  Mrs.  Finnie.  The  accounts  from 
Scotland  good,  our  own  home  full  of  sweet  tranquillity." 

"  London,  A^ov.  2,  1847. 
"  My  deae  Mother, —  .  .  .  Following  an  advice  of  Dr. 
Darling,  I  intimated  from  the  pulpit  that  I  did  not  wish 
to  see  visitors  on  Fridays  and  Saturdays,  nor  on  Tuesdays, 
Wednesdays,  and  Thursdays  till  after  one.  This  is  now 
coming  into  operation,  and  I  find  it  a  great  comfort,  but 
even  with  this  caveat  I  sometimes  get  into  arrears.  Last 
Sabbath  morning  I  rose  at  five,  and  Annie  rose  too  and 
gave  me  coffee,  and  lay  at  my  feet  on  the  rug  and  cried. 
She  has  got  as  great  a  horror  of  London  work  as  you  used 
to  have,  but  amidst  it  all  I  rather  gain  than  lose.  And  at 
present  it  looks  as  if  some  good  were  done.  At  night  the 
church  is  nearly  filled,  m  the  morning  quite,  and  several 
have  called  on  me  in  deep  concern — young  men  and 
women.  After  the  Communion  I  intend  a  course  of  even- 
ing sermons  on  Christianity  exemplified  and  applied  in 
the  different  callings  and  professions  of  life  :  the  servant, 
the  labourer,  the  teacher,  the  man  of  business,  the  man  of 
science,  the  man  of  letters,  the  physician,  the  philanthro- 
pist, the  missionary,  the  private  Christian,  and  the  Christian 
family." 

Here  we  obtain  a  peep  behind  the  curtain,  and  what  a 
picture  !  The  minister,  slender  in  body  but  keen  in  spirit, 
sitting  at  his  desk  at  five  o'clock  on  a  Sabbath  morning, 
in  a  dull  wintry  day,  and  putting  forth  all  his  powers 
to  find  acceptable  words  for  the  congregation  that  will 

X 


322  SERMONS  OX  LYDIA  AND  THE  JAILER. 

assemble  in  Eegent  Square  some  six  hours  hence.  His 
young  wife,  one  in  spirit  with  him,  has  risen  at  the  same 
hour  to  prepare  some  refreshment ;  but  looking  into  his 
face  before  she  retires,  she  imagines  that  symptoms  appear 
of  a  too  rapid  waste,  and  a  premature  decay.  She  throws 
herself  down  on  the  rug,  and  in  a  woman's  way  seeks  re- 
lief in  a  gush  of  tears.  But  this  is  a  heroic  woman  notwith- 
standing. Permit  nature  in  her  to  have  its  efflux  in  its 
own  fashion,  and  she  will  leave  the  student  undisturbed  at 
his  work.  The  sacrifice  she  thinks  is  great,  but  the  cause 
is  worthy  ;  she  "uill  not  drag  the  minister  from  his  study  in 
order  to  save  her  husband's  life  ;  she  will  retire  and  pray. 
The  series  of  lectures  to  various  classes  of  society  sug- 
gested in  this  letter  was  fully  accomplished,  and  has  been 
included  in  his  collected  works. 

TO  THE  KEY.  AXDREAV  BONAR. 

"  London,  Kovemher  2,  1847. 
"  The  congregation  is,  I  trust,  in  a  hopeful  state  at  pre- 
sent, the  evening  attendance  better  than  it  ever  was. 
More  persons  have  come  to  speak  about  the  state  of  their 
souls  M'ithin  the  last  six  weeks  than  in  any  year  that  I 
have  been  in  London.  All  September  we  tarried  at 
Philippi  with  Lydia  and  the  jailer,  and  the  last  four  ser- 
mons have  been  on  '  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you 
richly.'  Please  to  remember  that  next  Sabbath  is  our 
Communion.  I  am  drawn  to  the  text  John  i.  29.  How  is 
it  at  Collace  just  now,  and  in  the  neighbourhood  ? 

"  A  fortnight  ago  we  baptized  a  most  interesting  young 
Jew,  Dantziger,  the  son  of  a  Hamburgh  merchant." 


LECTUEES  TO  WOEKIXG  MEX  AXD  SERVANTS.     323 

"  BEDroED  Square,  Bkightox, 
Dec.  2,  1S47. 

"  My  dzxr  AVILLIA3I,—  .  .  .  This  treeless  to^m  never 
looks  v-intrv,  and  as  the  sun  shone  po-vrerfully,  and  the 
sky  -was  blue  and  the  ocean  calm,  and  all  the  Steynes 
bright  vith  gay  dresses,  and  the  drives  glittering  -with 
carriages  and  dancing  -«:ith  riders,  it  had  quite  a  soothing 
and  exhilarating  effect  on  shattered  nerves,  and  at  night, 
for  the  first  time  this  fortnight,  I  lay  down  with  no  fever. 
Going  into  a  shop  to-day  we  found  a  pile  oi  Life  in  Ear- 
nest on  the  counter.  The  bookseller  knew  me,  and  told 
me  that  Mr.  Pease,  a  Quaker,  had  given  him  an  imlimited 
order  to  send  a  copy  to  every  family  whose  address  he 
knew,  hoping  that  it  might  have  a  good  effect  on  the 
frivolous  young  ladies  with  whose  numbers  and  non- 
occupation  this  good  Friend  was  grieved,  as  I  myself  have 
sometimes  been," 

But  that  fortnight's  fever  is  the  legitimate  offspring  of 
the  overstrain  last  month  to  provide  convenient  food  for 
Eegent  Square,  "  quite  full  in  the  morning  and  nearly  full 
at  night." 

7  Laxsdowxe  Place,  Dec.  14,  1S47. 

"My  deae  Mamma,—  ...  On  Sabbath  evening  I 
preached  my  sermon  to  working  men.  The  church  was 
crowded.  The  Sabbath  before  that  it  was  to  servants,  and 
I  have  had  letters  of  thanks  both  from  them  and  their 
mistresses." 

A  little  snatch  of  such  news  as  will  cheer  a  mother's 
heart ;  our  mother  shall  get  the  news  accordingly.  There 
is  much  pressure  upon  the  minister  of  Eegent  Square  at 


324  "  DAYS  NUMBERED  AND  NOTED. 

tliis  time,  but  not  enough  to  press  his  mother  out  of  her 
place. 

His  sermon  on  the  last  Sabbath  of  the  year,  from  the 
text,  "  So  teach  us  to  number  our  days,"  etc.,  was  printed 
at  the  request  of  the  Session,  for  private  circulation,  under 
the  title  Days  Numhered  and  HoUd.  It  is  an  interest- 
ing study  in  connexion  with  what  we  now  know  of  his 
inner  life  during  that  year.  It  was  a  time  of  quickening 
in  his  own  spirit,  and  the  public  ministrations  felt  the 
glow  of  the  preacher's  faith  and  love.  The  address  is  sug- 
gestive and  searching.  It  goes  right  to  the  point,  and 
keeps  nothing  back. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  introduce  a  portion  of  the  intro- 
ductory paragraphs.  Besides  their  spiritual  lesson,  they 
will  show  the  affluence  of  his  analogical  resources. 

"  The  infant  passes  on  to  childhood,  and  the  child  to 
youth,  and  the  youth  to  manhood,  and  the  man  to  old  age, 
and  he  can  hardly  tell  when  or  how  he  crossed  the  boundary. 
On  our  globes  and  maps  we  have  lines  to  mark  the  parallels 
of  distance — but  these  lines  are  only  on  the  map.  Crossing 
the  equator  or  the  tropic,  you  see  no  score  in  the  water,  no 
line  in  the  sky  to  mark  it ;  and  the  vessel  gives  no  lurch, 
no  alarum  sounds  from  the  welkin,  no  call  is  emitted  from 
the  deep,  and  it  is  only  the  man  of  skill,  the  pilot  or  the 
captain,  with  his  eye  on  the  signs  of  heaven,  who  can  tell 
that  an  event  has  happened,  and  that  a  definite  portion  of 
the  voyage  is  completed.  And  so  far,  our  life  is  like  a 
voyage  on  the  open  sea,  every  day  repeating  its  predecessor 
— the  same  watery  plain  around  and  the  same  blue  dome 
above — each  so  like  the  other  that  you  might  fancy  the 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  LIFE.  325 

charmed  ship  was  standing  still.  But  it  is  not  so.  The 
watery  plain  of  to-day  is  far  in  advance  of  the  plain  of 
yesterday,  and  the  blue  dome  of  to-day  may  be  very  like 
its  predecessors,  but  it  is  fashioned  from  quite  another  sky. 
"  However,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  insidious  this  process 
is,  and  how  illusive  might  be  the  consequence.  Imagine 
that  in  the  ship  were  some  passengers — a  few  young  men, 
candidates  for  an  important  post  in  a  distant  empire.  They 
may  reasonably  calculate  on  the  voyage  lasting  three 
months  or  four ;  and,  provided  that  before  their  arrival 
they  have  acquired  a  certain  science,  or  learned  a  com- 
petent amount  of  a  given  language,  they  will  instantly  be 
promoted  to  a  lucrative  and  honourable  appointment.  The 
first  few  days  are  lost  in  the  bustle  of  setting  all  to  rights, 
and  in  the  pangs  of  the  long  adieu.  But  at  last  one  or  two 
settle  down  in  solid  earnest,  and  betake  themselves  to  the 
study  of  the  all-important  subject,  and  have  not  been  at 
it  long  till  they  alight  on  the  key  which  makes  their  after 
progress  easy  and  delightful.  To  them  the  voyage  is  not 
irksome,  and  the  end  of  it  is  full  of  expectation.  But 
their  comrades  pass  the  time  in  idleness.  They  play  cards, 
and  smoke,  and  read  romances,  and  invent  all  sorts  of 
frolics  to  while  away  the  tedium  of  captivity ;  and  if  a 
more  sober  companion  venture  to  remonstrate,  they  ex- 
claim, '  Lots  of  time.  Look  how  little  signs  of  land. 
True,  we  have  been  out  of  port  six  weeks  ;  but  it  does  not 
feel  to  me  as  if  we  had  moved  a  hundred  miles.  Besides, 
man,  Ave  have  first  to  pass  the  Cape,  and  after  that  we  may 
manage  very  well.'  And  thus  on  it  goes,  till  one  morning 
there  is   a  loud  huzza,  and  every  passenger  springs  on 


326  THE  DOOR  WAS  SHUT. 

deck.  '  Land  a-head  ! '  '  Wliat  land  ? '  '  Why,  the  land 
to  whicli  we  all  are  bound.'  '  Impossible  ;  we  have  not 
IDassed  the  Cape.'  '  Yes,  indeed  ;  but  we  did  not  put  in 
there.  Yonder  is  the  coast.  "We  shall  drop  anchor  to- 
night, and  must  get  on  shore  to-morrow.'  And  then  you 
may  see  how  blank  and  pale  the  faces  of  the  loiterers  are. 
They  feel  that  all  is  lost.  One  takes  up  the  neglected 
volume,  and  wonders  whether  anything  may  be  done  in 
the  remaining  hours  ;  but  it  all  looks  so  strange  and 
intricate,  that  in  despair  he  flings  it  down.  '  To-morrow 
is  the  examination-day.  To-morrow  is  the  day  of  trial. 
It  is  no  use  now.  I  have  played  the  fool,  and  lost  my 
opportunity.'  Whilst  their  wiser  friends  lift  up  their  heads 
with  joy,  because  their  promotion  draweth  nigh.  With  no 
trepidation,  except  so  much  as  every  thoughtful  spirit  feels 
when  a  solemn  event  is  near,  without  foreboding  and  with- 
out levity,  they  look  forth  to  the  nearer  towers  and  bright- 
ening minarets  of  that  famed  city,  which  has  been  the  goal 
of  many  wishes,  and  the  home  of  many  a  dream.  And  as 
they  calmly  get  ready  for  the  hour  of  landing,  the  only 
sorrow  that  they  feel  is  for  their  heedless  companions,  who 
have  lost  a  glorious  opportunity  to  make  their  calling  and 
election  sure. 

"  And  so,  my  dear  friends,  we  here  are  a  ship-  full  of 
voyagers  bound  for  eternity,"  etc. 

"7  Lansdowne  Place,  March  16,  1S4S. 

"  My  DEAE  William, —  .  .  .  When  Dr.  Hanna  was  here, 
a  fortnight  ago,  we  had  ]\Ir.  Lennox  of  New  York  at  din- 
ner,— quite  a  state  dinner, — Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  Hamilton, 
Mr.  Gillespie,  IMonsieur   Lost,  the    Misses  Williams,  Dr. 


WOOLWICH  AND  DEPTFORD.  327 

Stewart,  Jas.  Anderson.  Yesterday  lie  called.  I  was  not 
in,  but  he  left  with.  Annie  £50  for  our  Home  Mission, 
£25  for  Mr.  Bost,  and  as  much  for  the  poor  of  London. 
This  last  will  be  a  great  relief  to  my  over-taxed  charity 
purse.  I  wish  I  had  seen  more  of  him.  He  is  a  very 
superior  man.  On  Tuesday  of  last  week  I  made  a  holiday. 
Went  down  to  Woolwich  with  Dr.  Stewart,  Lord  Blantyre, 
and  Jas.  Anderson.  Col.  Anderson  showed  us  over  the 
arsenal,  with  its  24,000  cannons,  and  4,000,000  of  balls. 
Then  we  steamed  up  to  Deptford,  where  a  warm-hearted 
Scotchman,  Dr.  Bruce,  had  prepared  beef-brose  and  pan- 
cakes for  us,  it  being  Shrove  Tuesday.  Then  we  saw  the 
mill  which  makes  cocoa  or  chocolate  for  14,000  men  every 
day,  and  the  place  where  they  bake  the  daily  biscuits  of 
40,000  seamen.  Then  after  a  bachelor  dinner  with  Dr. 
Stewart,  went  to  the  Linnsean  Society,  of  which  I  had  been 
some  weeks  a  member  without  taking  my  seat.  The 
Bishop  of  Norwich  was  in  the  chair,  and  I  was  introduced 
by  old  Mr.  Spence  (of  Kirby  and  Spence),  if  not  the  father, 
the  uncle  of  modern  entomology.  Yesterday  and  to-day 
have  been  a  good  deal  occupied  with  the  Council  of  the 
Evangelical  Alliance.  I  like  to  meet  the  good  men  there. 
We  have  one  of  them  staying  with  us,  a  Mr.  Walters,  a 
layman  from  Newcastle.  If  spared  to  August  I  think  I 
would  like  to  try  a  new  and  short  memoir  of  our  father. 
The  present  one  is  a  sad  farrago.  If  you  can  glean  any- 
thing from  uncle  John  as  to  his  early  days,  or  if  anything 
occurs  to  your  own  memory,  I  would  like  you  to  jot  it 
down,  and  when  we  meet  we  may  compare  notes.  I  am 
sorry  that  there  should  not  be  an  interesting  record  of 


328  CONTINENTAL  REVOLUTIONS. 

such  a  life.  Next  Sabbath  evening  I  shall  close  my  lec- 
tures to  classes  and  professions.  To  myself  they  have 
been  very  interesting,  as  refreshing  old  readings  in  bio- 
graphy. You  would  hardly  think  how  rapidly  they  have 
been  written.  This  fast-writing  is  to  me  a  new  and  per- 
haps dangerous  talent.  Our  London  mobs  are  not  more 
desperate  than  the  one  through  which  you  passed  so 
triumphantly  at  Glasgow.  There  will  be  more  misery  in 
France.  Events  seem  ominous  for  Antichrist.  This  day's 
news  is  that  the  Eoman  mob  is  besieging  the  Vatican,  and 
clamouring  for  reforms  which  the  Pope  dare  not  concede. 
In  consequence,  I  suppose,  of  our  proposal  to  move  into  a 
smaller  house,  the  Church  Building  Committee  have  in- 
creased my  stipend  to  £500.  With  our  exemplary  thrifti- 
ness,  this  will  do  for  house-keeping,  but  for  books  and 
journeys,  as  well  as  charities,  I  must  still  call  in  the  aid  of 
the  crow-quill.  Delightful  place  this  London,  but  very 
dear.  Tell  Christina  so  any  time  that  she  proposes  to  flit. 
But  Mr.  Walters  will  be  coming  back,  and  I  have  a  sreat 
long  snake  of  a  proof-sheet  coiled  on  the  table,  so  good- 
night, and  love,  brotherly  and  sisterly  love,  from,  dear 
William  and  Christina,  your  affectionate  brother  and  sister, 
''  James  and  Annie  Hamilton." 

The  "  crow-quill "  in  this  letter  is  not  merely  a  figure  of 
speech.  He  used  that  instrument  almost  exclusively  to 
the  last.  The  stately  feather  from  the  goose's  wing  was 
early  abandoned,  and  the  modern  metallic  inventions, 
brass  and  gold,  were  not  adopted  till  a  very  late  period  of 
his  life,  and  not  frequently  used  even  then.     Little  boys, 


MATEIMONIAL  FELICITATIONS.  329 

wlio  lived  near  rookeries  in  far-off  Scotland,  were  bribed 
to  gather  the  precious  pinions. 

TO  THE  EEV.  ANDREW  BONAR. 

"  7  LANSDO■w^fE  Place,  March  29,  1848. 

"  My  dear  Brother, — A  letter  sealed  with  white  wax 
came  this  morning,  but  it  did  not  contain  the  expected 
cards.  When  are  they  coming  ?  I  was  beginning  to  be 
rather  afraid  of  you,  so  unconscious  of  your  forlorn  con- 
dition did  you  seem.  And  now  I  feel  that  Miss  Dickson 
has  much  merit  in  dispelling  your  monkish  delusion,  and 
by  herself  becoming  one  of  our  sisterhood,  restoring  you  to 
our  perfect  brotherhood.  Now  it  is  all  right.  Eobert 
M'Donald,  Horatius,  Mylne,  and,  at  last,  you  and  I.  They 
have  often  reproached  us  ministers  as  growing  less  active 
and  zealous  when  we  got  our  homes  all  comfortable ;  and 
we  must  try  and  do  away  with  this  accusation.  It  should 
not  be  true;  for,  besides  being  a  help -meet,  a  good  wife 
should  be  a  strong  motive.  I  know  very  well  that  yours 
wiU  be  both,  and  I  think  you  will  find  some  new  advan- 
tages for  your  work.  We  wish  you  would  take  your  mar- 
riage trip  to  London.  Will  you  not  ?  It  would  delight 
us  greatly  if  you  would.  We  often  pray  for  you,  and  for 
her  who  is  soon  to  be  your  wife.  We  are  glad  that  we 
know  her,  having  enjoyed  a  short  sight  of  her  last  year.  I 
have  just  been  reading  William  Dickson's  notices  of  his 
mother's  last  days, — a  fine  specimen  of  the  mellow  piety 
of  old  Scotland." 

"  London,  June  29,  1848. 

"  My  dear  William, —   .   .   .   ISIy  leisure  has  been  all 
occupied  in  writing  tracts  for  the  times,  the  first-fruits 


330  DE.  WINTER  HAMILTON. 

of  wliicli  I  enclose.  I  share  a  good  deal  in  the  popnlar 
prejudice  against  tracts,  and  therefore  have  disguised  my 
lucubrations  as  well  as  I  could,  and  have  got  Punch's 
next  door  neighbour  to  pubhsh  them,  as  the  Berners 
Street  imprint  might  have  awakened  suspicion. 

"  I  hope  that  Christina  has  got  strong  again,  and  that 
the  heir-apparent  waxes  and  is  well." 

"Brighton,  May  18,  1848. 

"  My  dear  William, —  .  .  .  Nothing  can  surpass  Lon- 
don in  the  month  of  May.  Our  lilacs,  laburnums,  and 
pink  hawthorn  run  riot.  The  picture  exhibitions  are 
open,  and  the  town  is  full  of  nice  jjeople.  But  I  am 
writing  a  few  short  tracts  for  working  people,  and 
three  days'  leisure.  Chartism  has  frightened  some  digni- 
taries of  the  Church." 

"7  Lansdowne  Place,  July  21,  1848. 

"  My  dear  Mother, —  ...  I  have  just  heard  of  the 
death  of  Dr.  Hamilton,  of  Leeds.  Of  all  the  English  Dis- 
senters he  had  the  richest  scholarship,  and  the  most 
aspiring  and  chivalrous  mind,  with  a  noble  infusion  of 
the  old  Puritan  sap  and  vigour." 

"  KiLMUN,  Aug.  21,  1848. 
"  My  dear  IMaiima, — You  must  feel  that  you  have  got 
into  quite  a  patriarchal  dispensation  with  all  these  grand- 
children starting  up  around  you.  Even  as  their  old  uncle, 
I  grow  venerable  in  my  own  eyes.  I  am  well  pleased  with 
the  sample  here.  Little  William  is  very  good,  and  Jane 
is  a  funny,  sagacious,  and  selfish  lassie,  fast  spoiling  her 
papa.     One  sometimes  wonders  how  all  these  little  things 


THE  POLITICAL  CPaSlS.  331 

are  to  warsle  through  the  world.  Not  so  badly,  perhaps, 
if  their  parents  are  spared ;  but  if  these  were  taken  away, 
there  are  few  aunts  like  Aunt  Ehzabeth.  However,  if 
they  are  intrusted  to  Him,  the  Father  of  the  fatherless 
wiU  take  charge  of  them  Himself." 

TO  MR.  WILLIAM  HAMILTON. 

"Cabnwath,  hy  Carstairs,  Sept.  II,  1848. 
"  I  hope  to  finish  this  week  my  tracts  for  the  working 
people.  I  hear  that  they  have  been  a  good  deal  bought 
by  the  class  for  whom  they  are  intended,  and  I  trust  that 
though  a  very  feeble  agency,  they  may  be  accepted  by  the 
Lord,  and  used  for  good." 

These  tracts  for  the  working  people  demand  and  de- 
serve some  notice. 

It  was  the  year  1848.  Ee volution  was  in  the  ascendant 
abroad ;  Chartism  threatened  all  established  institutions 
at  home.  There  was  distress  of  nations,  with  perplexity. 
The  ship  of  the  State  laboured  like  the  ship  that  bore  the 
\^  fugitive  Jonah,  and  every  one  on  board  was  fain  to  awake 
\nd  call  upon  such  god  as  he  knew  and  trusted.  The 
stvrm,  as  we  now  know,  although  it  did  some  mischief  in 
kncX-iking  over  certain  rather  ricketty  thrones,  did  much 
gooct  m  the  way  of  blowing  unhealthy  vapours  out  of  our 
political  atmosphere. 

There  was  too  much,  both  of  the  Christian  and  the 
patriot,  in  James  Hamilton,  to  permit  him  to  sit  still  and 
fold  his  hands  at  such  a  crisis.  He  was  not  so  much 
alarmed  as  were  some  dignitaries  of  Church  and  State. 
He  had  mingled  much  with  the  people,  and  knew  the 


332  THE  DANGEROUS  CLASSES. 

good  qualities  that  still  remained  in  the  mass.  He  did 
not  tremble  for  the  existence  of  the  commonwealth ;  but 
neither  did  he  think  light  of  the  danger  which  threatened 
its  wellbeing.  There  was  hope  of  weathering  the  storm ; 
but  there  was  need  of  exertion.  He  will  not  stand  idle  ; 
he  too  will  put  his  hand  to  the  work  of  preservation.  But 
he  saw  preservation  only  through  reformation,  and  to  re- 
formation of  the  dangerous  classes  he  accordingly  addressed 
himself.  The  weapon  which  at  this  crisis  he  seizes,  is  the 
old  and  well-tried  one — a  tract. 

This  time,  however,  he  has  a  different  audience  to 
address,  and  accordingly  he  must  employ  a  different 
method.  The  problem  in  hand  is  not  to  lead  gently  for- 
ward the  educated  and  well-disposed :  it  is  to  arrest  the 
attention  and  win  the  favour  of  the  alienated  and  the 
dangerous  classes  of  the  community.  With  this  view  he 
deserts  for  a  time  his  publishers  in  Berners  Street,  and 
enters  into  an  alliance  with  Mr.  Bogue,  who  happens  to 
be  next  neighbour  of  Punch.  The  tracts  shall  be  anony- 
mous, and,  as  far  as  possible,  the  writer's  style  shall  be 
disguised.  But  alas !  the  change  of  publisher  and  the 
omission  of  his  name  availed  no  more  than  the  very 
simple  scheme  of  the  ostrich,  who  hides  his  head — the 
smallest  part  of  him — in  the  sand,  in  order  to  conceal  his 
huge  body  from  the  hunters.  His  speech  bewrayed  him 
in  every  line.  The  tracts  were  indeed  published  anony- 
mously, but  the  writer  did  not  remain  unknown. 

The  series  consisted  of  twelve,  which,  when  collected 

■  into  a  small  volume,  assumed  the  general  designation, 

The  Ilcqypy  Home.     They  attracted  considerable  notice  at 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  TRACTS.  333 

the  time.  To  some  extent  they  reached  the  section  for 
whose  benefit  they  were  designed, — the  discontented  and 
imeasy  classes  who  heaved  and  foamed  ominously  at  that 
period,  near  the  base  of  society ;  but  even  from  the  first, 
it  must  be  confessed,  that  they  were  read  more  for  their 
remarkable  literary  characteristics  by  people  of  refined 
taste,  than  by  the  unrefined,  for  the  instruction  which 
they  contained.  There  are  many  gems  of  description,  and 
many  streaks  of  sage  humour,  and  many  adventurous 
sallies, — all  the  work  of  a  really  earnest  man,  honestly 
aiming  at  a  great  object ;  yet  the  result  has  been  a  specu- 
lative interest  in  his  peculiar  method  as  a  work  of  art, 
rather  than  an  arrestment,  on  any  large  scale,  of  our  clever 
but  wayward,  and  unlettered  and  unchristianized,  artisan 
population.  To  make  the  eifort  was  honourable ;  and  the 
effort,  even  as  to  its  direct  aim,  was  not  by  any  means  in 
vain.  It  is  no  disgrace  to  the  writer  that  for  their  original 
purpose  these  tracts  are  by  no  means  perfect.  Indeed  it 
might  have  been  with  certainty  predicted  that  his  style 
would  not  prove  an  instrument  nicely  adapted  to  go  right 
home  to  the  understandings  and  the  tastes  of  the  lapsed 
masses.  There  is  so  much  of  essential  poetry,  and  of 
covert,  elegant  allusion,  and  of  peculiar  idiom,  that  the 
average  artisan  must  in  reading  them  experience  many  a 
breach  in  the  continuity  of  his  comprehension.  Some 
men  of  less  brilliant  parts  have  since  that  time  addressed 
the  same  classes  in  a  style  better  fitted  for  the  purpose. 
The  Ha'pfy  Home,  will  continue  to  be  read  wdth  interest, 
but  mainly  by  those  who  have  already  reached  and  passed 
the  moral  and  economic  reformations  which  it  so  warmly 
urges,  and  so  felicitously  recommends. 


334  SLEEP. 

It  may  indeed  be  questioned  whether  any  printed 
address,  however  skilfully  adapted,  will  ever  make  much 
impression  on  that  particular  stratum  of  society  to  which 
this  effort  pointed.  This  kind  of  spirit  goetli  not  out  by 
a  preacher  that  can  be  sent  by  post.  The  living  voice 
and  loving  look  of  a  brother  seem  the  necessary,  the 
divinely-appointed  means,  of  conveying  effectually  to  these 
quarters  the  message  of  reconciliation  with  God,  and  con- 
sequently with  men.  Into  this  form,  accordingly,  in 
recent  years,  earnest  Christians,  taught  by  experience, 
have  mainly  thrown  their  efforts,  with  such  a  measure  of 
success  as  suflBces  to  encourage  them  to  perseverance. 

"  7  Lansdowne  Place,  Nov.  15,  1848. 

"  My  dear  Andrew, —  ...  I  hope  you  will  continue 
to  enjoy  health,  spirits,  and  friends.  I  know  the  sort  of 
slumbers  which  you  are  now  enjoying.  Indeed,  without 
being  an  epicure  in  sleep,  I  am  a  connoisseur.  (I  am  not 
an  epicure,  for  I  am  glad  to  get  whatever  comes.)  I 
know  by  some  experiences  that  sort  of  sleep  which  goes 
off  you  clean  and  light,  and  leaves  you  calm  and  hale — 
like  an  ether  bath  or  a  cloud-blanket  rolHng  off.  But 
sleep  seldom  leaves  me  in  this  way.  I  usually  leave  it, 
and  come  out  of  it  like  one  who  has  been  over  head  and 
ears  in  some  viscus  (say  treacle),  and  who  has  clots  of 
drowsiness  sticking  to  him  for  an  hour  after  he  gets  up. 
London,  I  must  confess,  is  ill  supplied  with  air.  I  wish 
there  were  some  Sir  Hugh  ]\Iyddleton  and  a  New  Eepre- 
sentation  Company  to  supply  the  town  with  Hanoverian 
or  Elberfeldian  atmosphere,  of  the  standard  quality — 21 


SCIENTIFIC  ITEMS.  335 

per  cent,  of  oxygen.  By-the-bye,  Dr.  Witling  will  be  glad 
to  bear  that  a  Londoner  lias  taken  out  a  patent  for  the 
essence  of  sunshine.  By  a  new  application  of  galvanism 
he  can  produce  a  light  having  all  the  intensity  and  other 
qualities  of  solar  light,  and  by  some  means  can  parcel  it 
out  so  that  for  three  farthings  a  night  you  can  command  a 
piece  of  sun  big  enough  to  supersede  one  hundred  candles. 
I  have  just  come  in  from  lecturing  to  the  students  for  the 
third  time.  I  had  them  all  at  tea  last  night.  They  are  a 
good  set  (nine — the  Muses),  intelligent,  willing,  and  in 
earnest.  Even  to  myself  the  course  may  be  of  some  use. 
It  will  set  me  in  my  old  age  to  study  English.  I  wish  I 
had  a  musical  ear.  I  can  trust  my  judgment  in  the  selec- 
tion of  synonymes,  and  in  the  use  of  figures,  etc.,  but  I 
cannot  trust  my  ear  in  the  structure  of  sentences.  I 
often  suspect  that  I  faU  into  monotony  and  jingles,  as 
weU  as  into  harsh  combinations.  I  have  bought  the 
Faery  Queen.  It  would  be  a  good  sermon  or  speech  which 
filled  the  sense  like  one  of  its  cantos :  as  varied,  round, 
and  ample. 

"  Your  philosophers  will  expect  some  scientific  news. 
Well,  I  went  to  the  Linna^an  Society  on  Tuesday  last 
week,  when  it  was  proved  pretty  conclusively  that  the 
potato-blight  is  a  fungus  allied  to  Botrychium  infcstans, 
the  spores  of  which  enter  from  within  by  the  sap  vessels. 
And  on  Monday  evening,  Adam  White  emerged  from  a 
six  months'  eestivation,  and  invited  me  to  the  British 
Museum,  to  get  a  private  view  of  the  Nimrod  marbles. 
They  throw  a  flood  of  light  on  such  passages  as  Nahum  ii., 
etc.     The  sculptures  give  with  wonderful  vividness  the 


336  DECISIVE  BOOKS. 

private  and  military  life  of  old  Nineveh.  There  is  some- 
thing very  solemn  in  the  exhuming  of  God's  witnesses 
2500  years  after  the  event." 

"London,  Dec.  5,  1848. 

"  My  deak  Andrew, —  ...  I  am  going  out  to  the  funeral 
of  old  Mrs.  Bunting.  We  have  lost  three  of  our  most 
venerable  hearers  within  a  fortnight ;  besides  herself,  the 
oldest  of  all,  Mrs.  Pritchard  and  Mr.  T.  Johnstone,  the 
elder.  He  had  just  taken  a  house  in  Calthorpe  Place  in 
order  to  be  near  us ;  and  on  the  Sabbath  morning,  the 
day  to  which  he  always  looked  forward  with  desire,  he 
awoke  with  a  pain  which  he  had  often  felt,  and  very  soon 
expired. 

"Do  you  know  Gaussen's  Thcopncustia t  It  is  a  con- 
clusive book,  making  an  end  of  the  matter,  quite  a  master- 
piece of  sanctified  genius.  Such  books  I  am  inclined  to 
call  '  Prophecies,'  in  the  New  Testament  acceptation  of  the 
term.  Their  writers  are  not  evangelists,  nor  teachers,  nor 
pastors,  but  they  are  prophets.  They  give  stability  to 
some  pillar-truth  of  revelation,  or  raise  to  a  stately  and 
commanding  elevation  some  neglected  doctrine  or  duty. 
Instance  Edwards  on  The  TfiZZ,  Butler, Paley's  Hora%  Pos- 
ter on  Decision,  Chalmers's  Astronomical  and  Commercial 
Discourses,  The  Paradise  Lost,  Calvin's  Institutes,  and  per- 
haps Irving's  Orations.  It  is  the  tendency  of  the  churches 
to  'despise  prophesyings,'  for  they  do  not  furnish  light 
reading  or  comfortable  preaching ;  but  to  them  Christianity 
owes  all  its  strength  and  grandeur  (outwardly). 

"  We  have  again  got  a  Scotch  Lord  Mayor,  Sir  J.  Duke. 
Last  Sabbath  he  and  the  Lady  Mayoress  came  to  Pcgeut 


THACKERAY — HAPPY  HOME.  337 

Square,  and  tlieir  grand  coach  made  quite  a  sensation 
among  the  young  folks.  There  is  a  novel  just  completed 
by  Thackeray — Vanity  Fair,  which  is  said  to  be  the  most 
remarkable  fiction  printed  for  many  years.  Last  week  I 
got  it  from  the  library,  and  abhor  it.  It  is  '  a  novel  with- 
out a  hero,'  and  its  object  is  to  make  humanity  contemp- 
tible. It  is  written  without  any  moral,  any  curative 
design  ;  and  is,  devil-like,  a  derision  of  all  that  is  good  or 
bad  in  man.  I  am  sorry  at  its  extreme  popularity.  The 
hero-worship  which  forgets  man's  depravity,  seems  to  be 
not  nearly  so  disastrous  in  its  tendency  as  this  sardonic 
fooling— this  blasphemy  against  a  nature  originally  made 
in  God's  image." 

FROM  ME.  ARNOT. 

"  Glasgow,  2M  January  1849. 

"  My  dear  brother  Hamilton, —  ...  To  show  you 
that  I  have  no  ill-wiU,  I  have  turned  out  a  broad-sheet  in 
the  good  old  fashion  under  the  heavy  postage.  The  only 
objection  I  have  to  the  cheap  postage  is  its  demoralizing 
effects  on  the  size  and  the  sense  of  letters.  I  venture  to 
affirm  that  the  next  generation  of  biographies  will  not  be 
so  rich  in  really  good  and  substantial  letters  as  the  last. 
These  loathsome  little  sheeticules, — two  pages  goino-  to  an 
ordinary  sentence, — how  can  they  have  anything  in  them 
fit  for  posterity  ?   .   .   . 

"As  it  will  gratify  the  honest  pride  of  an  author,  I 
cannot  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of  informing  you  that 
Happy  Home  is  an  especial  favourite  of  my  eldest  daughter 
She  calls  for  it  as  frequently  as  for  any  of  her  literaiy 
and  pictorial  store.     She  is  well  acquainted  with  Caspar 

Y 


338  AIM  OF  "the  HAPPY  HOME.  ' 

Eauchbilder.-^  She  knows  that  is  his  wet  coat  hanging 
on  a  chair  before  the  fire.  She  can  point  out  the  column 
of  smoke  ascending  over  his  head,  and  tell  the  uninitiated 
what  it  is,  and  she  enjoys  a  hearty  laugh  every  time  it  is 
opened,  at  the  sight  of  the  dog  running  off  with  the  pud- 
ding. As  to  my  own  opinion,  an  author,  when  he  reaches 
so  many  thousands,  may  well  appeal  to  puUic  opinion,  and 
let  private  opinion  take  its  course  ;  yet  I  could  not  write 
without  congratulating  you  on  the  peculiar  honour  of 
making  the  attempt.  To  that  point  I  chiefly  look.  To  suc- 
ceed is  evidence  of  talent,  but  to  try,  there  is  virtue.  I  sup- 
pose that  you  will  have  been  made  aware  that,  amid  a  very 
general  admiration,  some  wicked  people  (M'Phaii's,  etc.) 
revile,  and  some  timid  people  start  and  rub  their  eyes,  and 
look  again,  and  ask  what  do  you  think  of  that  ?  To 
the  wicked  peo|)le,  I  think,  for  I  have  no  opportunity 
of  saying,  '  You  lazy  scoundrel,  you  stand  there  high 
and  dry  with  your  hands  in  your  breeches'  pockets, 
and  look  down  on  that  other  man,  who  has  stripped  and 
plunged  into  the  quarry-hole,  and  is  manfully  plucking 
drowning  bairns  from  beneath  the  broken  ice, — you  find 
fault  with  the  method  of  his  operation.  He  don't  dive 
elegantly,  etc.  You  insufferable  fellow,  go,  jump  into 
the  quarry-hole  and  do  it  better,  and  ivhen  you  come  out 
criticise  your  neighbour.'  To  the  timid  people  I  say, 
'  Don't  be  afraid, — here  is  a  new  walk,  here  is  a  man  doing 
battle  with  the  enemy  in  a  field  which  they  have  long  had 
to  themselves.     Goliath  has  been  defying  the  armies  of 

^  Each  tract  was  originally  published  separately,  and  each  was  adorned  with 
an  appropriate  picture. 


LORD  ASHLEY.  339 

the  living  God,  and  if  a  stripling  accept  his  challenge  and 
go  right  out  to  meet  him,  we  must  let  the  youth  take  his 
own  weapons  and  his  own  w^ay  of  using  them.  Our 
regular  weapons  and  our  prescribed  sw^ord  exercise  have 
not  repressed  the  incursions  of  these  uncircumcised  Phili- 
stines ;  why  should  we  bind  them  on  the  back  of  this 
champion  ?  Let  him  alone.  What  although  he  choose  a 
tiny-looking  weapon ;  what  although  he  give  it  queer 
outlandish  twirls  round  his  head  ;  that  is  his  own  way  of 
giving  impetus  to  the  missile.  Let  him  alone.  If  he 
strike  Goliath  in  the  forehead,  that  is  the  main  point.' 
Well,  I  must  say  good-night.  All  our  family  welL 
Hitherto  we  have  been  preserved.  W.  A." 

"London,  Feb.  2,  1849. 

"  My  deae  William, —  ...  At  dinner  I  sat  next  Lord 
Ashley,  the  only  time  I  ever  met  him  in  private.  His 
hobby  is  the  same  as  Mr.  Guthrie's,  and  all  night  he  talked 
of  nothing  but  ragged  schools.  In  one  thing  I  believe  he 
is  right.  The  London  thieves  are  perhaps  the  sharpest 
and  most  susceptible  race  in  London ;  but  I  can't  find, 
either  from  him  or  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Eagged  School 
Union,  who  is  a  member  of  Eegent  Square,  that  many 
tangible  cases  have  yet  occurred  where  they  have  been 
reclaimed.  What  I  am  far  more  anxious  to  see  is  a  move- 
ment, wise  and  systematic,  to  Christianize  our  working 
men.  In  such  a  movement  I  think  Mr.  'Noel  is  ready  to 
take  a  zealous  part ;  but  it  will  be  some  time  before  his 
ecclesiastical  relations  are  fixed,  and  till  then  he  will  not 
preach,  nor  appear  in  public." 


340  TRACTS  THAT  PEOPLE  BUY. 


TO  MK.  AENOT. 


"February  15,  1849. 

"  I  am  not  at  all  discouraged  by  the  reception  of  Bogue's 
series  (The  Happy  Home).  I  daresay  they  are  very  open 
to  criticism  when  read  in  parlours,  but  I  wrote  them  for 
working  people,  and  perhaps  they  are  the  only  tracts  which 
working  people  buy.  The  other  day  I  had  an  anonymous 
letter  from  an  operative  in  Birmingham,  saying  that  he 
had  hung  up  my  picture  near  his  bed  that  he  might  see 
it  every  morning  when  he  awoke  (poor  fellow !  I  sus- 
pect he  will  not  be  allowed  much  time  to  look  at  it) ; 
and  I  often  hear  of  poor  people  (for  instance,  a  man  selhng 
hot  potatoes  in  the  streets)  going  and  buying  them.  Now, 
I  think  it  possible  to  write  better  and  more  interesting 
tracts,  and  I  wish  some  of  you  would  go  and  do  it,  for  it 
is  cheaper  philanthropy  to  get  the  people  to  buy  their  own 
tracts,  than  to  need  to  coax  them  to  accept  them.  Popu- 
larity in  this  quarter  is  the  only  sort  of  distinction  about 
which  I  feel  no  sheepishness. 

"  Eemember  me  kiudly  to  the  presiding  genius  of  your 
own  happy  home,  and  give  Caspar  Eauchbilder's  love  to 
Miss  Arnot.  J.  H." 

"7  Lan.sdow.ne  Place,  Feb.  21,  1849. 

"  jMy  dear  William, —  ...  I  was  glad  to  hear  such  an 
account  of  your  Communion.  Our  own  was  a  profitable 
season  too.  Some  of  the  new  communicants  were  interest- 
ing cases.  Four  of  them  were  the  sons  of  Mr.  D.  Napier, 
the  engineer  ;  all  fine  young  men.  That  Salibath  was  the 
first  in  which  their  father  officiated  as  an  elder,  and  two 


THE  SEED  BEARING  FEUIT.  341 

of  them  were  to  sail  the  same  week  for  Otago.     Another 

was  the  daughter  of  Mr.  .      She  was  naturally   a 

proud  and  strong-willed  creature,  and  most  resolute  against 
all  religion.     But  last  November  she  was  deeply  awakened 

by  a  sermon  on  Judas  Iscariot,     Another  was ,  the 

boot-maker,  a  man  at  middle  life,  and  in  a  very  respectable 
business,  who  seems  at  last  to  have  received  the  truth  in 
the  love  of  it.  And  most  of  the  young  communicants 
(twenty  in  all)  seem  to  have  received  their  religious  im- 
pressions quite  recently.  J.  H." 

"London,  Feb.  26,  1849. 

"  My  dear  Mamma, —  .  .  .  Yesterday  morning  I  was 
preaching  on  '  Cast  thy  bread  on  the  waters,'  and  just  be- 
fore I  went  into  the  pulpit  who  should  come  into  the 
vestry  but  Andrew  Melville  ?  He  is  still  forester  to  the 
Earl  of  Malmesbury,  doing  well  in  the  world,  and  as  good 
as  ever :  and  this  morning  a  nice-looking  young  woman 
came  in  and  told  me  that  she  had  been  in  church  yester- 
day, and  that  it  was  by  the  sermons  in  Eoxburgh  Church, 
eight  years  ago,  when  she  was  one  of  Miss  Spence's  scholars, 
that  she  had  been  brought  under  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 
Her  name  is  C — ,  and  she,  along  with  her  mother,  keeps 
house  for  her  brother  at  Gravesend,  who  has  a  good  place 
in  the  Customs.  She  has  an  aunt  in  town,  and  frequently 
comes  up  to  attend  Kegent  Square  on  the  Sabbaths.  I  was 
much  interested  with  many  things  she  said,  and  much 
struck  with  the  providential  commentary  on  the  morning's 
text.  On  Friday,  a  minister  at  Islington  told  me  that, 
when  pastor  of  an  Independent  church  near  Cambridge, 


342         "the  peesbyterian  messenger." 

at  one  commnnion  he  admitted  two  members,  one  of  whom 
had  been  converted  hj  reading  the  Moiiiit  of  Olives,  and 
the  other  by  Life  in  Earnest.  It  is  very  cheering  to  hear 
such  news  now  and  then. 

"  Yesterday  we  had  with  us,  for  the  last  time,  Arnot's 
brother-in-law,  John  Fleming,  a  fine  youth,  who  has  im- 
proved much  even  in  London,  and  who,  I  hope,  will  turn 
out  well." 

"London,  March  27,  1849. 

"  My  dear  William, —  .  .  .  Our  Preslyterian  Messenger 
is  not  paying,  and  is  not  thriving,  and  I  have  been  called 
in  as  sick-nurse.  I  hope  to  cure  it  by  light  diet  and  gentle 
exercise.  But  it  is  a  great  trouble ;  meanwhile,  I  have  had 
to  write  nearly  the  whole  number  myself." 

So,  whenever  a  wheel  of  the  Presbyterian  waggon  stuck 
in  the  mud,  it  was  to  his  shoulder  that  people  looked  for 
the  needful  push, — a  shoulder  strong  morally,  but,  alas ! 
physically  unfit  to  bear  the  burden.  Wisely  judging  that 
a  magazine  which  should  contain  denominational  as  well 
as  general  intelligence,  was  a  prime  necessity  for  the 
Church,  he  cheerfully  undertook  the  work,  and  success- 
fully accomplished  it.  Henceforth  he  led  it  with  his 
own  hand,  until  it  was  able  to  walk  alone ;  and  even  then 
continued  to  keep  a  fatherly  eye  on  its  movements.  By 
a  few  sentences  from  the  address  which  he  inserted  on 
the  occasion  of  assuming  editorial  charge,  we  may  contri- 
bute a  specimen  of  that  amazing  skill  with  which  he  con- 
trived to  brighten,  by  a  ray  of  his  own  hopefulness,  a 
prospect  that  otherwise  would  have  appeared  forlorn  : — 


PROSPECTUS  OF  THE  "MESSENGER."  343 

"  Many  readers  have  hitherto  deemed  the  Messenger  too 
massive  in  its  structure,  and  too  denominational  in  its 
tone.  On  the  correctness  of  this  impression  it  is  not  for 
the  present  editors  to  pronounce ;  but  such  readers  will 
not  be  displeased  to  learn  that  the  magazine  is  hereafter 
to  be  conducted  on  principles  more  accordant  with  their 
tastes.  Tlie  larger  portion  of  its  pages  will  be  devoted  to 
biographical  sketches,  missionary  intelligence,  short  prac- 
tical essays,  and  those  scriptural  or  historical  miscellanies 
which  may  entertain  our  younger  friends,  whilst  they 
convey  instruction  to  all.  "VVe  shall  be  more  anxious 
than  ever  to  detail  the  progress  of  our  China  and  Corfu 
Missions,  the  proceedings  of  our  several  presbyteries  and 
congregations,  the  increase  of  our  schools,  the  on-goings 
of  our  college.  And  whilst  we  shall  gladly  insert  what- 
ever may  tend  to  elucidate  or  endear  to  its  adherents  our 
ecclesiastical  polity,  we  shall  be  open  to  all  sound  and 
judicious  suggestions  toward  the  improvement  of  its 
working.  But  our  plan  will  necessarily  exclude  many 
articles  which  might  be  prized  in  other  periodicals.  We 
have  not  space  for  critical  or  homiletic  disquisitions,  and 
we  are  not  in  the  humour  for  controversial  reviews.  Our 
little  barque  makes  no  magnificent  pretensions.  She  is 
too  lightly  built  for  heavy  goods,  nor  will  she  carry  the 
thunderbolts  of  war.  But  like  her  namesake  among  the 
South  Sea  Islands,  it  is  all  her  hope  to  be  a  "  Messenger 
of  Peace,"  a  little  coaster  carrying  tidings  and  a  few  plain 
commodities,  in  her  monthly  voyage,  amongst  our  insu- 
lated congregations ;  and  if  cheered  by  a  little  kind  en- 
couragement, no  pains  will  be  spared  to  provide  an 
acceptable  cargo. 


344  MR.  NOEL. 

"  Some  well-wishers  may  be  startled  at  tlie  prospect  of 
a  monthly  sixpence  instead  of  the  present  moderate  sum. 
And  we  ourselves  confess  that  to  a  doubled  price  we 
would  greatly  prefer  a  doubled  circulation.  If,  therefore, 
by  the  exertions  of  our  friends,  w^e  receive  during  the 
next  two  months  the  assurance  of  2500  new  subscribers, 
the  price  and  size  will  remain  as  at  present.  But  if  our 
readers  practically  decide  against  both  alternatives, — that 
is,  if  they  will  give  us  neither  the  additional  pence  nor 
the  additional  subscribers,  the  pleasant  month  of  June 
will  put  a  period  to  the  Presbyterian  Messenger.  And 
after  paying  tlieir  debts,  should  a  few  sovereigns  of  their 
private  resources  still  remain  to  them,  the  gratuitous 
editors  and  the  grievously  mulcted  '  promoters '  will  seek 
to  recover  their  spirits  at  Brighton  or  Southampton,  or 
some  other  watering  place,  where  they  may  find  the  skies 
stiU  azure  and  the  brethren  true  blue." 

'•LoNDOX,  March  27,  1849. 

"  My  dear  Mamma, —  ...  I  feel  sorry  for  you  all  in 
your  bleak  and  upland  dwellings — William  often  so  ill  at 
Stonehouse,  and  Jane  so  invalid  at  Carnwath.  But  even 
London  is  not  proof  against  influenzas.  I  have  had  one 
since  Tuesday  last,  and  though  I  tried  to  preach  on  Sabbath 
morning,  I  felt  my  throat  so  tender  that  I  begged  Mr. 
Noel,  who  was  in  church,  to  go  on  with  the  service.  Tliis 
he  kindly  did,  and  preached  a  beautiful  sermon  from 
Genesis  xxii.  lG-18  :  so  that  his  first  appearance  since  he 
left  Bedford  Bow  has  been  in  Eegent  Square.  A  good 
many  of  liis  old  hearers  were  present,  and  much  affected 
to  see  him  ascend  into  the  pulpit.    .    .    . 


DEATH  OF  HIS  SISTER.  345 

<■ 

"I  have  read  witli  much  interest  lately  three  memoirs, 
the  life  of  ]\Irs.  Sherman  of  Surrey  Chapel,  and  John 
M'Douald  of  Calcutta,  and  Tom  Campbell  the  poet.  I 
have  seen  all  three,  and  Mrs.  Sherman  I  knew.  She  was 
a  beautiful  combination  of  nature  and  grace,  her  piety 
was  so  natural,  her  nature  so  gracious. 

"  I  hope  that  James  the  Less  is  behaving  magnanimously 
during  his  mamma's  illness ;  and  I  trust,  through  the  good- 
ness of  God,  health  and  quiet  may  soon  revisit  your  abode." 

He  refers  here  to  his  only  remaining  sister,  the  wife  of 
Mr.  Walker,  minister  of  the  Free  Church  at  Carnwath.  The 
hope  he  fondly  entertained  was  not  fulfilled — the  sickness 
was  unto  death.  The  letters  which  follow  exhibit  a  very 
great  grief,  balanced  by  a  still  greater  consolation : — 

"  London,  April  IG,  1 849. 
"  My  dear  William, — My  impulse  would  be  to  speed 
back  to  Carnwath,  but  there  are  some  matters  to  which 
no  one  can  attend  except  myself,  at  least  for  the  next  two 
days, — especially  the  writing  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Re- 
23ort  and  preparing  for  the  press  next  Messenger.  It  seems 
strange  to  myself  that  I  feel  quite  equal  to  the  doing  of 
such  things,  especially  when  I  remember  how  dull  I  was 
on  Saturday  week.  But  one  great  reason  is  that  to  me  it 
scarcely  seems  as  if  Jane  were  gone.  I  feel  that  she  is 
living  and  happy,  and  with  Christ.  When  I  see  poor 
ilnnie  sitting  and  crying,  I  think  that  she  would  weep  less 
if  she  had  been  with  me  at  Carnwath  last  week,  and  if 
she  had  been  led  (as  I  have  been)  to  think  not  so  much  of 
our  own  loss  as  of  her  Grain." 


346  DEATH  OF  HIS  SISTER. 

"  Tuesday  Evening. 

"  Deaeest  William, — This  day  ray  mind  has  been  much 
divided,  but  whilst  feeling  drags  me  to  Carnwath,  duty 
seems  to  detain  me  here.  Many  things  would  fall  into 
confusion  were  I  leaving  even  on  Thursday  night ;  and  I 
am  not  without  fear  of  catching  cold,  owing  to  the  season, 
especially  if  I  travelled  overnight,  as  I  would  need  to  do. 
Oh,  how  fain  would  I  pay  the  last  tribute  of  a  brother's 
love  to  that  dear  dust,  and  how  I  would  like  to  shed  a 
tear  with  them  that  weep ;  but  nobody  can  do  the  things 
that  I  have  got  to  do  here,  and  must  do  this  week. 

"  In  regard  to  the  Sabbath,  I  think  Dr.  Hanna,  or  some 
one  who  knew  and  loved  her,  can  improve  the  occasion 
best,  better  than  either  of  ns. 

"I  feel  it  hard  to  stay  away,  and  nearly  impossible 
to  go. 

"  May  the  Comforter  come  to  dear  mamma  and  James. — 
Your  ever  affectionate  brother,  J.  Hamilton." 

"Monday,  April  16,  1849. 

"  My  beloved  Uncle, — Our  dear  Jane  has  entered  into 
rest.  I  left  her  on  Saturday  morning  very  very  weak, 
half  hoping  she  might  recover,  and  happy  to  think  that  if 
she  did  not  get  better  she  was  going  home  to  God.  And 
thither  she  departed  gently  and  peacefully  yesterday 
morning  at  twenty  minutes  past  six.  When  asked  to  her 
marriage,  you  said  that  on  such  occasions  you  saw  not 
only  gay  cariiages  but  a  hearse  at  the  door.  I  saw  her 
that  day,  then  when  I  went  to  baptize  her  little  boy,  and 
then  last  week  when  on  her  dying  bed. 


GEEAT  CONSOLATION.  347 

"  Owing  to  tlie  meeting  of  Synod,  I  do  not  think  that 
I  can  return  to  Carnwath ;  but  William  is  there,  and  my 
dear  mother  is  most  mercifully  supported." 

TO  HIS  MOTHEE. 

"  7  Lansdowne  Place,  Ajn-ll  20,  1849. 

"  .  .  .1  am  glad  to  hear,  dear  mamma,  that  you  have 
been  so  supported  under  this  most  afflicting  dispensation. 
My  own  feeling  on  behalf  of  our  sainted  sister  is  thank- 
fulness, more  than  anything  else ;  and  it  is  only  when  I 
think  of  those  left  behind  that  sadder  thoughts  come  over 
me.  No  one  ever  passed  through  twenty-seven  years  of 
earthly  life  so  inoffensive,  so  innocent,  so  self-denied,  up 
to  the  limits  of  her  strength  so  useful,  nor  one  who,  in  her 
own  quiet,  truthful,  and  kindly  walk  more  adorned  the 
doctrine.  Calm,  sweet,  and  holy  will  be  her  memory,  like 
the  remembrance  of  a  summer  Sabbath  at  Strathblane, 

"  What  is  your  plan  about  little  James  ?  Poor  little 
fellow,  I  wish  we  had  him  here,  if  James  would  let  him 
come.  Would  it  not  be  your  best  plan  to  come  up  to  us 
as  soon  as  you  can  and  bring  him  with  you  ?  Stonehouse 
is  too  cold,  both  for  him  and  you,  and  we  have  plenty  of 
room.     I  hope  it  may  come  to  this." 

"52  Hamilton  Tekkace,  3Ia7j  25,  1849. 

"  My  dear  William, —  ...  A  dehcious  summer  has 
now  arrived,  and  nothing  can  surpass  the  beauty  of  the  out- 
look from  the  window  where  I  si''.  Every  season,  I  am  more 
struck  with  the  beauty  of  our  London  environs.  There 
can  nowhere  be  a  finer  blending  of  the  picturesque  and 


348  HIS  sister's  CHAPtACTER. 

tlie  sumptuous.  But  looking  out  on  tliis  lovely  spring,  I 
think  often  of  one  who  can  no  longer  smell  the  lilac  and 
wallflower,  nor  walk  over  this  soft  new  grass.  Wliere  is 
that  ransomed  spirit's  home  ?  and  is  she  cognisant  of  phy- 
sical beauty  in  any  way  ?  Or  is  it  for  the  present  mere 
intercourse  of  soul  with  soul — meditation,  communion, 
worship  ? " 

Jane  was  the  only  one  of  his  sisters  with  wdiom  the 
present  writer  w^as  personally  acquainted.  As  it  lies 
within  his  power,  it  seems  to  be  his  duty  to  bear  testi- 
mony that  the  terms  in  which  her  brother  describes  her 
character,  are  in  no  degree  exaggerated  by  fraternal  fond- 
ness. She  was  bright  and  sportive  like  a  lamb,  and  like 
a  lamb  too  in  a  certain  simplicity  and  pureness  which  won 
all  hearts.  While  mother  and  brothers  mourned  their 
loss  with  a  very  great  sorrow,  her  husband  was  well-nigh 
stricken  down  by  the  blow.  For  a  long  period  his  spirit 
was  crushed  and  his  health  enfeebled.  Such  is  life  on 
earth,  even  for  the  disciples  of  Christ ;  the  more  precious 
the  treasure  bestowed,  the  more  dreadful  is  the  rending 
when  it  is  taken  away.  The  space  here  is  too  narrow  for 
the  full  development  of  our  Father's  plans  ;  He  needs  a 
larger  room  whereon  to  exhibit  in  the  ultimate  issue  the 
love  and  wisdom  of  His  comprehensive  purpose.  "  What 
thou  knowest  not  now,  thou  shalt  know  hereafter." 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

1849-1851. 

Feom  year  to  year  the  congregational  and  pastoral  work 
goes  on  with  the  utmost  regularity.  The  stream  is  seldom 
ruffled  by  any  great  or  extraordinary  event.  The  annual 
reports  succeed  each  other,  containing  full  and  clear 
accounts  of  schools  and  missions  in  London ;  of  efforts  to 
extend  the  limits  of  the  Church  in  EuQ-land ;  of  foreign 
missions  in  Corfu  and  in  China.  Eegent  Square  is  like  a 
hive  of  bees  in  summer ;  and  the  mighty  metropolis  is 
the  better  for  this  and  other  similar  conOTegations  in  its 
midst,  whether  the  mighty  metropolis  knows  and  acknow- 
ledges its  obhgations  or  not.  The  minister,  loving  and 
loved,  is  felt  everywhere  a  rallying  point  and  centre  of 
attraction.  The  beneficent  machinery  goes  smoothly 
round.  Christian  charity  lubricating  every  wheel ;  and 
precisely  because  all  is  going  on  well  there  is  not  much 
for  the  historian  to  tell.  "Where  there  are  no  battles,  the 
history  of  a  country  is  brief  and  dull;  b^^t  great  is  the 
happiness  and  the  progress  of  the  people.  It  is  tlie  same 
with  the  work  and  sphere  of  a  Christian  minister,  when 
he  is  faithful  and  his  flock  affectionate.     His  letters  will 


350  ARTISTS  IN  REGENT  SQUARE. 

quietly  illustrate  his  character,  but  there  are  few  events 
large  enough  to  constitute  way-marks  in  his  history. 

"London,  Jum  8,  1849. 
"My  deak  Andeew, — Your  last  with  its  enclosure  to 
William  arrived  safely  a  week  ago.  I  should  have  sent 
you  a  good  long  letter  sooner,  but  I  am  sadly  occupied. 
As  I  keep  no  journal,  I  may  give  you  a  sketch  of  the  last 
week.  On  Friday  I  worked  all  day  at  the  Life  of  Lady 
Golqulwun,  and  on  Saturday  till  midnight  studied  for 
Sabbath.  On  Sabbath  rose  at  four,  and  being  out  at 
Hamilton  Terrace,  it  was  beautiful  to  behold  that  Sabbath 
prime.  It  was  bright  in  the  east,  and  in  the  west  so 
darkly  grey  that  you  could  easily  imagine  the  skirts  of 
night's  sable  stole  as  allegorical  painters  delineate.  And 
then  so  warm  and  genial — the  'may,'  the  laburnum,  the 
breath  of  June — and  so  musical,  the  skylark  in  the  air, 
and  the  turtles  in  their  cage.  Besides  which  I  had  a 
happy  feeling  about  the  day  and  its  blessed  work.  Though 
far  too  nervous  and  unequal  to  have  any  certainty  about 
preaching  well,  I  have  great  enjoyment  in  studying,  from 
confidence  in  the  truth,  and  a  hope  (often  illusive)  that 
I  may  retain  the  same  benevolence  and  joyousness  in 
preacliing,  and  so  effect  some  good.  After  the  morning 
sermon  three  artists  came  into  the  vestry  all  in  a  row,  and 
unknown  to  one  another.  Hope  Stewart  and  Miss  Laird, 
who  took  dear  James's  likeness,  and  Norman  M'Beth,  all 
inquiring  after  you.  On  Monday  received  visitors  till 
twelve.  One  of  these  was  a  Professor  Stewart,  from  New 
Albany,  Ohio.     He  brought  a  handsome  edition  of  Happy 


DEATH  OF  A  WlDOW's  SON.  351 

Home,  published  by  Carter,  New  York,  and  a  diploma 
constituting  me  a  life-director  of  the  American  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions — a  distinction  obtained  by  purchase,  and 
a  good  way  of  applying  part  of  the  profits  of  these  publi- 
cations. Then  visited  till  half-past  four.  One  of  these 
visits  was  an  affecting  one.  On  Sabbath  evening  I  was 
asked  to  go  and  see  a  young  Scotchman  at  Walworth, 
dying  of  decline.  I  made  a  memorandum  to  go  there  the 
first  place  on  Monday,  but  I  was  only  in  time  to  see  his 
tall  figure  stretched  on  a  table  in  the  repose  of  recent 
death,  and  his  old  mother,  from  Peterhead,  sitting  beside 
the  corpse.  Poor  fellow  !  I  fear  there  was  no  hope  in  his 
death,  the  only  tiring  hke  it  was  that  he  had  expressed  a 
wish  to  see  me.  I  observed  on  a  table  what  appeared  to 
be  a  novel  from  a  circulating  library,  and  with  which  I 
fancied  he  had  been  beguiling  his  dying  hours.  I  prayed 
with  his  mother  and  brother  and  came  sorrowfully  away. 
After  dining  with  Mr.  W.  Hamilton,  attending  the  Session 
prayer-meeting  and  two  committees,  got  home  at  ten. 
Tuesday  wrote  fourteen  letters,  corrected  the  proofs  of  a 
new  edition  of  Mount  of  Olives  in  order  to  be  stereotyped." 

"52  Hamilton  Terrace,  June  12,  1849. 
"My  deae  Mamma, —  .  .  .  Our  old  cook,  Anne,  is 
feeling  the  infirmities  of  age,  and  has  resigned.  We  have 
got  one  from  Yarde,  the  chemist  in  Lamb's  Conduit 
Street,  who  is  well  recommended.  For  the  last  month  we 
have  been  very  much  here.  Dr.  Darling  recommends  it 
as  good  for  Annie,  baby,  and  all  to  be  here  as  much  as 
they  can.     And  so  another  friend  and  neighbour  has  passed 


352  STRATHBLANE  NOTABLES. 

away.  It  is  thirty  years  since  Miss  Craig  came  to  Strath- 
blane  in  all  her  buxom  vigour,  and  very  bowed  and  feeble 
they  say  she  was  these  latter  years.  I  missed  seeing  her 
when  in  Edinburgh  last  September,  That  little  spot  in 
the  West  Churchyard  has  now  received  beneath  its  sod 
forms  with  whom  my  early  memories  of  the  old  manse 
intermingle.  Yesterday,  the  day  the  notification  came, 
was  the  Monday  of  Strathblane  sacrament  twenty-two 

years  ago.      Mrs.  and  Miss  Craig  would  be  the 

stateliest  guests  at  the  manse  dinner ;  old  Susan  would  be 
assiduous  at  the  table ;  and  Mary,  seven  years  old,  with 
her  white  frock  and  soft  fair  hair,  had  helped  Elizabeth  to 
gather  flowers  for  the  epergne — lilac  and  bachelors'  buttons 
and  red  pinks  and  cowslips  from  the  bank.  Dear  Jane, 
her  cheeks  even  then  were  rosy,  and  I  think  her  hair  was 
black,  though  her  dark  eyes  had  not  softened  into  that 
gentle  and  magnanimous  expression  of  friendliness  which 
they  afterwards  acquired.  Andrew  was  in  Lizzy  Eamsay's 
arms.  Poor  Captain  Craig's  funeral  was  on  the  Saturday 
of  a  summer  sacrament — a  cold  and  windy  Saturday.  But 
before  it  took  place  his  young  sweetheart  (Elizabeth 
Hamilton)  had  escaped  from  the  windy  storm  into  the 
bosom  of  her  God ;  and  the  great  break  up  had  begun  which 
lias  been  going  on  for  eighteen  years.  That  old  manse 
beside  the  burn  was  like  a  nest ;  and,  taking  in  Aunt 
Elizabeth,  there  were  nine  of  us  who  nestled  there ;  and 
I  seldom  see  a  hawthorn  tree,  or  scent  the  caller  smell  of 
clothes  bleaching  on  the  grass,  or  the  odorous  breath  of  a 
milch  cow,  but  I  think  of  these  warm,  peaceful  evenings. 
Of  the  nine,  four  are  left,  but  no  two  together.     How  much 


EXPLORATION  OF   THE  DEAD  SEA.  353 

need  to  think  of  heaven  ! — I  remain,  your  ever  affection- 
ate son,  James  Hamilton." 

"London,  Juhj  21,  1849. 
"  My  dear  William, —  .  .  .  The  wealth  which  I  most 
value  is  the  affection  of  relations  and  friends  ;  but  I  feel 
that  I  am  doing  nothing  to  deserve  it,  and  by  negligence 
doing  much  to  forfeit  it.  On  Wednesday,  at  Hamilton 
Terrace,  just  before  the  bell  rang  for  dinner,  I  finished 
writing  the  Memoir  of  good  Lady  Colquhoun,  and  after 
two  days  more  I  have  just  completed  the  Messenger  for 
this  month.  And  then  I  said  to  myself,  '  I  shall  now  rest 
a  while  ;  I  shall  take  in  hand  no  more  book-making.  I 
shall  take  leisure,  and  delight  myseK  in  the  society  of  dear 
friends.'  And  Annie  enters  enthusiastically  into  the  idea. 
(She  has  even  some  sinister  wishes  that  the  Messenger  may 
'  go  down.')  And  carrying  out  our  scheme  we  are  going 
to  Tulse  Hill  and  Camberwell  on  Monday,  and  are  to  have 
some  friends  at  tea  on  Tuesday ;  and  by  a  little  extra 
activity  we  hope  to  pick  up  a  good  many  of  those  old 
acquaintances  who  may  still  remember  us  after  the  relega- 
tion of  the  last  fifteen  months.  It  is  just  so  long  since  I 
conceived  the  notion  of  '  Happy  Home,'  and  began  to  lead 
this  life  of  cold-hearted  industry. 

"  To-morrow,  ]\:Ir.  Noel  is  to  preach  in  the  morning,  and 
in  the  evening  I  exchange  with  Dr.  Leifchild ;  so  this 
afternoon  I  have  a  singular  sensation  of  disengagedness. 
This  week  I  have  read  a  wonderful  book — Lieut.  Lynch 
of  the  United  States  has  sailed,  or  rather  floated,  down  the 
Jordan,  and  all  round  the  Dead  Sea ;  the  only  man  who  ever 

z 


3 5 -J:  BIOGRAPHY  LABORIOUS. 

did  so.  His  exploration  is  a  wonderful  confirmation  of 
the  Bible  narrative  of  the  destruction  of  the  cities  of  the 
Plain.  Over  and  above,  it  is  a  most  interesting  volume  of 
travels." 

In  a  letter  of  the  same  date  to  his  brother-in-law,  Mr. 
Walker,  he  states  his  opinion  that  the  preparation  of  the 
memoir  occupied  more  time  than  all  that  he  had  hitherto 
printed  put  together.  This  intimation  takes  one  by  sur- 
prise ;  but  he  knew  what  he  said,  and  could,  if  necessary, 
have  given  his  reasons.  The  books  and  tracts,  for  the  most 
part,  were  in  the  line  of  his  ministry,  or  lines  that  lay 
near.  The  materials  were  all  at  hand,  the  accumulations 
of  a  laborious  life.  But  the  memoir  of  a  life  with  which 
he  was  not,  to  a  great  extent,  personally  familiar,  must  have 
been  compiled  altogether  from  documents  that  he  had  not 
previously  seen.  Besides,  the  labour  of  reading  a  great 
mass  of  documents,  written  by  various  pens,  and  with 
varying  degrees  of  legibility,  and  the  strain  laid  upon  the 
judging  faculty  by  the  necessity  of  forming  a  multitude  of 
decisions,  or  rather  one  continuous  act  of  deciding  what 
should  be  retained  and  what  omitted,  render  the  task  of 
a  biographer  exceptionally  laborious. 

But  the  work  was  a  credit  to  him,  and  a  benefit  to  the 
public.  It  is  alive,  and  will  speak  for  itself  The  honour 
thai  accrued  to  him  from  the  manner  in  which  he  executed 
this  task,  became  ultimately  a  burden ;  applications  for 
similar  service  were,  in  some  cases,  pressed  with  incon- 
venient urgency. 


VACATION  OCCUPATIONS.  355 


TO  MK. 


" Beoadstairs,  Aug.  24,  1849. 

"  My  deae  Friend, — Few  persons  can  love  Mr,  Noel 
more  than  I  do,  and  few  can  be  so  sorry  at  the  last  step 
which  he  has  taken.  But  he  took  it  in  the  exercise  of  the 
same  conscientiousness  which  made  him  espouse  the  cause 
of  the  Free  Church,  and  which  led  him  to  leave  the 
Establishment ;  and  though  I  would  vehemently  dissent 
from  his  judgment  in  this  case,  I  cannot  withdraw  from 
him  my  affection.  Even  we  ourselves  do  not  know  what 
we  might  have  done  had  we  belonged  to  a  church  which 
teaches  baptismal  regeneration.  Our  friends  must  make 
allowance,  and,  like  Mr,  N,  himself,  who  joined  in  the 
prayers  for  the  infants  baptized  in  our  church  last  month, 
we  must  exercise  Christian  magnanimity.    .   .   ." 

"  Broadstairs,  Kent,  Aucj.  27,  1849. 

"My  dear  Andrew, — Your  letter  with  your  Iceland 
experiences  arrived  safely  last  Monday,  and  is  now  at 
Carnwath.  You  are  seeing  places  and  people  whose  ac- 
quaintance it  is  the  lot  of  few  to  make,  and  which,  I  hope, 
you.  will  find  of  good  account  in  your  calling  hereafter. 
The  globe  is  a  little  islet  after  all,  but  it  contains  materials 
of  interest  in  its  past  and  present  more  than  all  its  natu- 
ralists and  poets  will  ever  use  up.    .    ,    . 

"  The  only  drawback  on  the  rustication  is  that  thing 
which  I  can  no  more  get  rid  of  than  '  a  man  can  jump  out 
of  his  own  shadow,'  I  have  already  written  sixty-four 
letters  since  I  came  here,  and  edited  the  Messenger,  having 
to  write  twenty  columns  of  it  myself.     However,  it  is 


356  NOTES  ON  BOOKS. 

better  than  London ;  and  in  the  pure,  health-giving  sea- 
air  I  have  read  some  books.  Hare's  Life  of  Sterling  is  a 
book  whicli  gentlemen  scholars  like  you  should  read,  to 
see  the  spiritual  dangers  of  hterary  habits  when  not  cor- 
rected by  the  tonic  of  some  active  and  beneficent  pursuit. 
Sterling  became  a  Straussian,  and  a  great  outcry  has  been 
raised  against  Hare  for  publishing  a  candid  and  friendly 
memoir ;  but  every  lover  of  truth  should  be  glad  to  get 
the  true  history  of  a  mind  so  sincere,  and  so  finely  accom- 
plished, even  though  the  ending  is  sad.  With  Chalmers's 
Theological  Institutes  I  am  delighted  out  of  measure. 
Orthodox,  honest,  conversational,  eloquent,  divinely  human, 
it  is  the  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe — the  mighty  Chalmers  in 
his  golden  maturity.  It  is  the  converse  of  his  sermons. 
These  it  was  better  to  hear  than  to  read  ;  his  lectures  are 
noblest  in  print.  With  Longfellow's  Hyperion  you  would 
be  greatly  charmed  ;  as  well  as  with  Lamartine's  memoirs 
of  his  youth.  I  have  also  read  a  volume  of  Sir  J.  Stephen's 
contributions  to  the  Edinburgh  Review  :  brilliant  sketches 
of  Baxter,  Wilberforce,  and  other  leading  men  of  many 
persuasions.  And  when  I  go  out,  either  alone  or  with 
Annie,  I  have  usually  in  my  pocket  a  volume  of  my  un- 
wearying companion,  the  Faery  Queen.   .   .    . 

"  As  you  will  have  seen,  Mr.  Noel  has  been  re-baptized. 
He  will  resume  his  ministry  in  the  chapel,  Gray's  Iim 
Eoad,  which  has  hitherto  been  Mr.  Mortimer's.  Yester- 
day he  was  to  preach  in  Eegent  Square,  as  he  also  will 
next  Sabbath.  This  step  cannot  cool  my  affection  for 
him,  though  I  very  much  lament  it.  Perhaps,  owing  to 
the  diversity  of  our  minds,  there  is  a  peculiar  drawing 


LETTER  FROM  AN  AMERICAN.  357 

together  betwixt  him  and  me.  ]\Iost  of  the  sermons 
which  he  has  preached  this  summer  have  been  in  Eegent 
Square,  to  the  very  great  benefit  of  our  people.  Tliree 
weeks  ago  I  opened  a  beautiful  new  Presbyterian  Church 
at  Shields,  built  by  Mr.  Stevenson ;  and  in  other  three 
weeks  I  expect  to  preach  at  the  opening  of  another  at 
Birmingham.  AVe  have  now  a  dozen  handsome  churches 
in  England,  which  are  one  element  of  denominational 
strength. 

FROM  MR.  S.  LAURENCE. 

"  Kever's  Hotel,  Bond  Street, 
Sept.  8,  1849. 

"Eev.  and  dear  Sir, — Some  weeks  since,  when  on  the 
Continent,  I  received  the  enclosed  note  with  a  letter  from 
my  brother,  Mr.  Amos  Laurence,  of  Boston,  with  a  request 
that  I  would  call  on  you  in  London  and  thank  you  in  the 
warmest  manner  for  the  many  good  things  you  have 
written,  especially  for  that  entitled  Life  in  Earnest, 
which  is  being  circulated  most  extensively  through  the 
States,  with  an  influence  truly  favourable  on  vast  num- 
bers. My  brother  enclosed  a  letter  he  had  received  from 
Mr.  Briggs,  the  present  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  in 
which  he  says  this  work  of  yours  is  next  the  Book  of 
books,  and  of  all  things  he  would  like  to  take  you  by  the 
hand.  I  called  at  your  house  to-day,  and  found  that  you 
were  out  of  town,  and  as  I  shall  embark  for  my  home,  at 
Boston,  next  Saturday,  it  will  not  be  in  my  power  to  gratify 
your  admirers  by  a  personal  interview.  Let  me  say  that, 
should  you  visit  the  United  States,  you  will  find  thousands 


353  INTERNATIONAL  COPYRIGHT. 

of  warm  hearts  to  receive  you,  but  none  with  more  cordiality 
than  those  I  have  alluded  to.  Among  the  principal  sources 
of  enjoyment  on  the  passage  home,  is  the  pleasure  of  read- 
ing your  works,  and  I  beg  to  present  you  my  thanks  in 
anticipation,  and  am,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  Saml.  Laukence." 

It  is  understood  that  his  works  have  enjoyed  even  a 
larger  circulation  in  America  than  in  this  country.  He 
possessed  the  higher  reward  of  knowing  that  he  was 
honoured  as  an  instrument  of  good ;  but  it  would  not 
have  been  amiss,  all  circumstances  considered,  if  our 
brothers  beyond  the  Atlantic  had  "  felt  in  their  pockets " 
for  the  author  of  works  which  they  so  much  admired.  Not 
altogether,  but  almost,  it  can  be  said,  that  he  derived  no 
profit  from  the  sale  of  his  works  in  America.  The  ex- 
ception amounted  only  to  a  few  pounds.  This  of  course 
throws  no  reflection  on  those  private  persons  who  bought 
the  books  in  the  market :  it  belongs  to  the  system  which 
refuses  international  copyright. 

"London,  Oct.  5,  1849. 

"My  dear  William, —  .  .  .  Many  thanks  to  your 
dear  and  good  friend,  Mr.  Rowan,  for  so  kind  an  invita- 
tion. It  would  indeed  be  very  delightful  to  spend  these 
days  together ;  but  the  College,  the  Messenger,  the  con- 
gregation, next  Tuesday's  Presbytery,  the  China  Mission, 
and  the  stopping  of  this  Sunday  post,  are  a  sixfold  cable 
which  tethers  me  to  town  next  week. 

"  During  this  winter  it  will  be  absolutely  needful  that 


PASTOEAL  ADDRESS.  359 

you  husband  your  strength,  and  especially  that  you 
eschew  all  Aveek-night  meetings.  Four  years  ago,  I  gave 
up  our  Thursday  meeting  in  Eegent  Square.  I  did  not  lose 
a  single  hearer  in  consequence,  and,  by  being  able  to  preach 
better  on  Sabbatli,  our  Sabbath  congregation  improved. 
The  Sabbath  service  is  the  sheet-anchor  of  our  ministry. 
And  then  for  health.  My  experience  is,  that  if  I  do  not 
go  out  in  the  rain,  and  sit  in  no  draught  in  the  house, 
I  do  not  catch  cold ;  and  I  never  contract  any  mischief 
from  the  utmost  amount  of  study.  I  hope  you  will  now 
make  a  conscience  of  your  health,  and  spare  no  comfort 
which  is  to  make  you  strong  and  fit  for  future  service. 
Our  constitutions  are  not  very  tough,  but  neither  are  they 
distempered  ;  and  they  will  last  a  good  while  if  we  do  not 
allow  people  to  tear  them  to  pieces." 

A  pastoral  address  during  the  prevalence  of  cholera,  in 
October  1849,  presents  his  character  in  an  interesting 
aspect.  AVe  venture  to  think  that  few  evangelical  mini- 
sters would  have  given  to  temporal  affairs  so  prominent  a 
position  and  so  large  a  place  in  such  a  composition.  One 
whose  hope  was  less  lively,  and  whose  spiritual  life  was 
less  mature,  supposing  him  to  be  really  a  true  disciple  of 
the  Lord,  would  have  felt  it  necessary  in  such  circum- 
stances to  deal  almost  exclusively  with  the  new  life  of 
the  soul.  Foremost  in  place,  and  largest  in  bulk,  would 
have  been  the  "  call  to  the  unconverted," — the  urgent  ap- 
peal to  press  into  the  Kingdom,  lest  the  door  should  sud- 
denly be  shut.  A  pastoral  so  framed  would  have  been  a 
good  and  an  appropriate  charge ;   it  would  have  been  a 


360  THE  EPIDEMIC. 

word  in  season  to  any  congregation.  But  the  pastoral 
which  James  Hamilton  wrote  under  the  shadow  of  the 
pestilence  was,  we  do  not  say  a  more  useful  address,  but 
the  fruit  and  evidence  of  a  higher  spiritual  attainment. 
He  speaks  as  one  who  is  ready  to  depart  and  to  be  with 
Christ ;  it  is  such  an  one  who,  from  such  a  view-point, 
can  cahnly  enforce,  in  principle  and  detail,  the  duty  of 
setting  one's  house  in  order.  We  subjoin  those  portions 
that  bear  on  this  point,  and  are  in  some  degree  peculiar 
and  characteristic  : — 

"  In  His  infinite  wisdom  the  sovereign  Pailer  has  left 
the  term  of  human  existence  vague  and  indeterminate ; 
but,  in  the  same  wisdom,  from  time  to  time  He  sends 
messages  to  warn  us  that  though  life  be  indefinite,  it  is 
not  perpetual ;  though  long,  it  is  not  everlasting.  Of 
these  methods,  one  most  effectual  is  a  temporary  increase 
in  the  rate  of  mortality.  By  sending  into  a  district  a 
pestilential  disease  or  other  devastating  malady,  the  Most 
High  shortens  the  lives  of  its  inhabitants.  To  each  in- 
habitant He  brings  death  nearer  than  it  was.  He  virtu- 
ally says,  '  Twice  as  many,  thrice  as  many,  are  dying  now 
as  used  to  die,  therefore  from  this  assembly  twice  or  thrice 
as  many  will  be  removed  in  these  transpiring  months  as 
would  have  been  taken  had  all  things  continued  as  they 
were ;  and  whatever  was  the  previous  likelihood  that  any 
given  individual  should  die,  that  likelihood  is  for  the  pre- 
sent twice  or  three  times  greater  than  it  was.'  This  is 
solemn  language,  but  it  is  true.  It  is  the  language  of 
God's  providence ;  and  it  is  spoken  not  in  order  to  put 
people  into  panic,  but  to  lead  them  to  rex^entance — not  to 


SETTING  THE  HOUSE  IN  ORDEE.  361 

frighten  or  distress  us,  but  to  force  us  into  closer  contact 
with  our  truest  interest — to  compel  us  to  grapple  more 
resolutely  with  the  great  object  of  earthly  existence.  And 
as  he  would  be  our  best  friend,  not  who  could  insure  to 
us  a  long  life,  but  who  could  make  us  continually  ready 
for  the  close  of  a  short  one,  and  as  I  deem  it  likely  that  I 
now  address  some  who,  ere  the  short  remainder  of  this 
year  is  ended,  will  be  the  inhabitants  of  eternity,  without 
exaggeration  and  without  evasion,  and  using  great  plain- 
ness of  speech,  I  would  seek  to  offer  some  suggestions 
suited  to  the  present  emergency  : — 

"  I.  And  amongst  these  preparations  which  may  enable 
you  to  look  upon  your  departure  with  serenity  and  cheer- 
fulness, the  first  I  shall  mention  is  the  ordering  of  your 
worldly  affairs.  If  these  be  obscure  or  tangled,  they  will 
be  a  great  hindrance  to  the  more  important  and  vital 
preparations. 

"  In  the  complications  of  modern  trading  it  is  difficult 
to  speak  of  such  matters  with  absolute  precision,  but  it 
seems  very  obvious  that  no  one  leaves  the  world  grace- 
fully, not  to  say  righteously,  who  leaves  it  in  debt. 
Doubtless  there  are  sad  coincidences,  and  disease  and 
death  may  arrive  simultaneously  with  commercial  disaster. 
But  setting  out  of  sight  such  anomalies,  there  cannot  be 
a  moment's  doubt  on  the  question ;  aud  his  life  is  the 
honourable  one  whose  well-directed  industry  and  fore- 
thoughtful self-denial  have  enabled  him  to  add  to  the 
world's  resources,  who  has  converted  crude  materials  into 
objects  of  solid  use  and  substantial  comfort,  and  who,  if 
his  five  pounds  have  not  gained  by  trading  other  five 


362  TESTAMENTARY  DISPOSITION. 

pounds,  at  least  leaves  to  liis  cliildren  the  same  advantages 
for  well-being  and  well-doing  wliicli  his  father  bequeathed 
to  him.  Just  as,  on  the  contrary,  every  affectionate  mind 
must  revolt  from  the  idea  that  his  family  are  to  be  in- 
volved in  financial  distress  on  the  very  day  that  their 
natuial  guardian  is  taken  from  their  head.  It  is  surely 
enough  that  they  must  feel  in  all  their  poignancy  the 
woes  of  orphanage  and  widowhood,  without  being  sub- 
jected to  the  ignominy  and  vexation  of  a  bankruptcy  for 
which  they  are  nowise  to  blame.  And  as  you  would  pre- 
serve inviolate  the  sacred ness  of  sorrow,  and  as  you  would 
rescue  the  house  of  mourning  from  the  degrading  diplo- 
macy, the  rude  intrusions,  and  coarse  insults  incident  to 
embarrassed  or  ruined  circumstances,  surely  no  effort 
should  be  spared,  no  present  self-denial  grudged,  in  order 
to  secure  a  provision  for  survivors,  and  so  to  render  your 
affairs  simple,  explicit,  and  self-adjusting. 

"  There  are  some  subordinate  preparations  for  the  final 
event  which  I  Avould  gladly  have  specified ;  but  alas  ! 
'  the  dignity  of  the  pulpit '  sets  limits  to  the  friendliness  of 
the  pastor,  and  perhaps  for  one  discourse  I  have  suffi- 
ciently exceeded  the  usual  range  of  allowed  convention- 
alities, otherwise  I  should  have  liked  to  add,  '  Set  your 
house  in  order  by  securing  wise,  kind,  and  pious  friends 
for  survivors.'  In  its  human  provisions  there  never  was  a 
shorter  will  than  that  w^iich  the  Son  of  Mary  uttered  on 
the  cross,  '  AVoman,  behold  thy  Son ;  man,  behold  thy 
mother ;'  but  the  three  years  of  close  and  confiding  com- 
panionship with  which  that  '  man  '  had  been  favoured  by 
his  Master,  bespoke  his  fondest  services,  and  prepared  him 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  FEIENDS.  363 

to  fulfil  with  sacred  and  tremulous  solicitude,  his  affecting 
and  ennobling  trust.  And  in  like  manner  you  may  have 
little  to  leave,  almost  as  little  as  He  who  had  not  the  poorest 
cottage,  or  the  smallest  endowment  to  bestow  on  a  beloved 
parent's  waning  years,  and  whose  very  apparel  was  a  per- 
quisite forfeited  to  the  soldiers  who  slew  Him.  But 
happily,  and  in  the  kindness  of  God,  it  is  possible  for  the 
poorest,  by  worth  and  obligingness,  to  secure  friends  who 
may  advance  his  best  interests  and  be  of  unspeakable 
service  to  his  family  when  he  himself  is  gone.  And, 
amongst  those  whom  I  now  address,  there  is  probably  not 
one  who  might  not  secure  for  himself  the  affection  of 
men  whose  wisdom  and  goodness  would  be  a  constant 
blessing  to  himself,  and  a  precious  heritage  to  his  children. 
True,  this  modern  world  is  in  a  hurry,  and  hurry  begets  a 
certain  heartlessness  ;  but  if  we  ourselves  take  leisure  to 
be  very  good,  and  very  useful,  and  very  amiable,  even  in 
this  rapid  age  some  one  or  other  will  find  leisure  to  love 
us.  And  as  it  is  through  the  friendship  of  our  fellows 
that  the  Friend  who  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother  sends 
many  of  His  own  sweetest  mercies,  it  is  worth  while  to 
seek  out  and  to  cultivate  the  society  of  those  Christians 
who  are  devout  enough  to  quicken  our  own  languor,  and 
faithful  enough  to  indicate  and  remedy  our  own  defects, 
and  whose  pious  counsels  and  prayerful  watchfulness  will 
not  lose  sight  of  our  earthly  representatives,  when  our- 
selves have  disappeared. 

"  And  I  should  have  liked  to  add,  '  Set  your  house  in 
order,  by  attending  instantly  to  those  matters,  whether 
temporal  or  spiritual,  which  you  mean  to  do  some  day.' 


364  TREASURES  LOST. 

Every  now  and  then,  inside  of  some  wainscot,  or  under 
the  basement  of  a  ruined  tower,  people  are  finding  a 
pot  of  rusty  coins  or  a  tarnished  lump  of  some  precious 
metal.  It  was  the  hoard  of  some  frugal  worthy  who 
intended  to  impart  to  his  heir  the  secret  before  he 
died  ;  but  he  perished  on  the  battle-field,  or  was  smitten 
down  by  some  sudden  stroke,  and  his  secret  perished  with 
him, — his  secret  perished,  and  his  heir  was  poor.  And 
so,  at  this  moment,  hoarded  up  in  the  bosoms  of  living 
men,  are  many  treasures  ;  not  bullion,  not  jewel-caskets, 
not  minted  money, — but  good  ideas,  good  intentions,  things 
which,  if  imparted  or  performed,  would  enrich  by  making 
wiser  and  better  a  family,  or  that  eventual  heir  of  all  right 
deeds  and  holy  thoughts — mankind.  But  alas  !  if  they 
be  only  in  your  own  bosom  when  you  die,  that  is  a  ruin 
which  will  not  divulge  its  treasure.  The  information,  the 
fact,  the  project,  the  thought,  has  perished  ;  and  so  far  as 
you  are  concerned,  must  remain  a  secret  till  the  resurrec- 
tion. Then,  '  whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it 
with  thy  might.'  .  .  .  And  if  our  house  be  thus  in  order, 
we  shall  not  need  to  mind  which  of  many  messengers  our 
dear  Lord  sends  to  warn  us  of  His  coming ;  and  provided 
it  opens  the  gate  and  lets  in  the  Saviour  and  the  Sabbath 
of  His  own  immediate  presence,  we  shall  not  have  any 
quarrel  with  the  grim  door-keeper,  whether  it  be  a  stormy 
billow  or  an  exploding  engine,  a  palsy  or  a  pestilence,  a 
slow  consumption  or  the  rapid  and  much -dreaded  cholera." 

Although  tlie  habit  of  liis  mind  was  Christian  rather 
than  ecclesiastic,  and  cosmopolitan  rather  than  deuomi- 


ADAPTATION.  365 

national,  he  was  constrained  by  the  necessities  of  his 
position  to  undertake  a  large  share  in  the  councils  of  that 
section  of  the  Church  to  which  he  belonged.  With 
a  positive  distaste  for  Church  pohtics,  he  was  yet  com- 
pelled by  his  talents  and  influence  to  be  a  leader  in  the 
Church. 

One  rule  for  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  England  which 
he  counted  essential,  and  kept  constantly  in  view,  was 
that,  while  Presbytery  should  in  the  south  be  maintained 
intact,  both  in  its  theology  and  its  government,  Avhatever 
was  peculiarly  Scotch  about  it  might  profitably  be  left 
behind  at  the  border.  He  was  continually  thwarted  in  his 
plans  by  an  inveterate  prejudice  which  held  to  the  acci- 
dents of  Scottish  habits,  as  if  they  were  the  essentials  of 
the  Church.  He  firmly  and  fondly  believed  that  the 
grand  system  of  doctrine  and  discipline  which  Knox  intro- 
duced into  Scotland  might  suit  England,  and  be  her  salva- 
tion in  the  spiritual  deluge  that  is  coming  on,  if  those  into 
whose  hands  the  boon  has  fallen  were  wise  and  pliable 
enough  to  distinguish  between  essence  and  accident ;  if 
they  would  give  England  the  living  body  of  the  system, 
and  not  insist  on  England  accepting  also  every  rag  of  the 
Scottish  costume.  This  was  a  passion  with  him — an 
aim  which  he  prosecuted  through  life.  An  opportunity 
occurred  of  ventilating  his  principles,  when  Mr.  Young, 
an  able  and  good  minister,  after  a  brief  experiment  in 
London,  determined  to  treat  the  experiment  as  a  failure 
and  abandon  the  field.  In  the  Presbytery,  on  this  occasion, 
he  spoke  with  more  bluntness  and  less  reserve  than  was 
his  wont.     Probably  he  felt  more  at  liberty  to  let  out  all 


30  6  ADAPTATION. 

Lis  mind  in  connexion  witli  that  case,  because  tlie  minister 
was  a  man  of  acknowledged  ability  and  of  the  highest 
character.  There  was  less  danger  of  giving  pain  in  such 
a  case,  than  if  there  had  been  a  failure  through  lack  of 
ability. 

At  a  meeting  of  Presbytery  in  March  1850,  Dr.-^  Hamil- 
ton said  "  he  felt  much  for  Mr.  Young,  and  felt  much  for 
the  congregation,  but  most  of  all  for  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  England.  Considering  how  cordial  was  his 
call,  and  how  clear  Mr.  Young  was  in  acce^Dting  it,  he 
could  scarcely  conceive  the  effort  or  the  sacrifice  which 
their  brother  should  not  have  made  before  conceding  that 
his  coming  was  a  mistake,  and  his  ministry  a  failure.  He 
agreed  with  what  Mr.  Chalmers  said  regarding  adapta- 
tion ;  but  what  he  lamented  was,  that  so  many  pious  and 
able  men  failed  to  adapt  themselves.  How  was  it  that 
Scotchmen  succeeded  in  every  mission  except  the  mission 
to  England  ?  Why,  but  because  to  the  Jews  Dr.  Duncan 
became  as  a  Jew,  and  to  the  Hindus  Dr.  Duff  became  as 
a  Hindu ;  to  the  Bushmen  Mr.  Moffat  became  as  a  Bush- 
man. But  catch  a  Scotchman  becoming  an  Englishman 
to  the  English.  We  invaded  them  as  in  the  days  of  the 
Border  raids,  and  as  a  preliminary  to  their  becoming 
Presbyterians  or  Christians,  insisted  on  their  first  becom- 
ing Scotchmen.     We  treated  them  to  frosty  metaphysics 

1  About  this  time  he  begins  to  be  addressed  as  Doctor,  both  in  piiblic  and 
private  documents ;  but  I  have  found  no  notice  of  the  degree  having  been 
conferred,  either  in  his  own  letters  and  journals,  or  in  the  letters  that  were 
addressed  to  him  by  others.  I  understand  that  the  degree  of  D.D.  was  con- 
ferred on  him  about  tliis  period  by  an  American  institution,  I  think  the 
College  of  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 


DEATH  OF  HIS  sister's  CHILD.  367 

and  formal  dissertations;  and  whilst  we  made  a  great 
parade  of  our  logic,  we  made  a  great  secret  of  our  feelings. 
The  consequence  was  that  we  often  parted  in  mutual  dis- 
content—the preacher  indignant  at  these  stupid  English, 
and  the  hearers  effectually  tired  of  that  cold  and  stately 
Scotchman." 

His  sister's  infant  son  did  not  long  survive  his  mother. 
Some  notes  of  the  event,  and  the  tender  emotions  it  called 
forth,  appear  in  a  letter  to  his  brother  Andrew.  It  fre- 
quently happens  that  by  far  the  fullest  record  of  his 
thoughts  occurs  in  the  letters  to  this  member  of  the  family, 
owing  to  the  circumstance  that  he  was  generally  in  some 
foreign  land.  To  this  we  owe  the  two  next  letters,  each 
charged  with  a  great  family  sorrow. 

"Carxwath,  March  22,  1850. 

"My  deak  Andkew,— When  Annie  and  I  heard  the  sad 
tidings  last  week,  we  resolved  at  once  that  we  would  come 
down  and  see  them  here.  We  came  on  Thursday,  and 
found  William,  who  had  been  here  all  week.  Friday  was 
the  funeral.  He  had  become  a  beautiful  child.  ISTothino- 
could  be  lovelier  than  his  look  in  death.  We  sent  for 
Gall  from  Edinburgh,  who  came  and  took  a  cast  from  his 
features.  He  was  buried  in  Jane's  grave,  as  near  as  mio'ht 
be  in  his  mother's  arms.  It  is  a  spot  in  the  churchyard 
on  a  line  with  the  front  of  the  church,  enclosed  by  a  neat 
iron  railing,  and  I  have  got,  through  young  Oliphant,  a 
beautiful  Gothic  design  for  a  tablet.  On  Sabbath  I 
preached  for  James.  You  remember  the  last  occasion,—- 
and  as  I  looked  down  on  the  empty  font,  I  felt  how 


3G8  DR.  CANDLISH  IN  LONDON. 

pathetic  was  the  close  of  this  little  family-history.  To 
mamma,  this  early  end  of  all  her  tending  and  all  her  hopes 
is  very  touching.  But  her  sore  trial  took  place  when 
Jane  was  taken ;  this  is  only  an  addition,  and  it  is  a  death 
in  which  there  was  no  bitterness.  At  times  she  is  able 
to  be  even  somewhat  cheerful.  And  in  her  health  she  is 
remarkably  well.  On  Tuesday  Annie  and  I  crossed  over 
to  Stonehouse,  and  spent  the  day  with  them.  AVilham's 
manse  is  a  pattern  of  neatness  and  comfort.  His  two 
children  are  great  musicians.  It  is  wonderful  how  many 
tunes  little  Jane  knows.  To-morrow  we  go  into  Edin- 
burgh, and  on  Sabbath  I  preach  for  Dr.  Candlish,  who  is 
to  preach  for  me.  Last  Sabbath  he  preached  in  Eegent 
Square,  and  had  Dukes  and  Lords  without  number,  besides 
four  Cabinet  ministers — Lord  J.  Eussell,  the  Earl  of  Carlisle, 
Sir  G.  Grey,  Fox  Maule.  I  am  told  that  it  was  a  deeply 
impressive  sermon  on  1  Cor.  iii.  10-17:  the  importance 
of  everything  we  do  as  an  element  of  character — every 
good  addition  on  the  right  foundation  being  everlasting. 
On  Monday  1  shall  be  in  London,  and  shall  transmit  the 
long  neglected  money  to  Dr.  D.  AVe  would  fain  have 
carried  mamma  away  with  us,  but  it  is  kinder  to  James 
Walker  to  leave  her  here  for  a  little,  and  she  herself  would 
like  it  better. 

"  It  is  solemn  to  think  that  the  sister  side  of  our  family 
table  is  now  extinct  to  earth ;  but  sweet  to  believe  that 
they  are  all  in  heaven." 

"LoNDOX,  Ajml  11,  1850. 
"  You  will  feel,  my  dear  Andrew,  as  if  all  letters  from 
Britain  were  now  written  in  lamentation,  and  mourning, 


DEATH  OF  HIS  BEOTHER's  WIFE.  369 

and  woe ;  but  the  letter  wliicli,  I  suppose,  you  have  by 
this  time  received  from  William  could  not  startle  you 
more  than  it  surprised  and  prostrated  us.  When  Annie 
and  I  were  at  Carnwath  we  crossed  over  and  spent  Tuesday 
the  1 9  th  at  Stonehouse.  Christina  was  then  in  the  highest 
health ;  their  manse  a  model  of  neatness  and  comfort ; 
their  children  singing  their  hymns  so  sweetly,  and  as 
obedient  as  music.  Since  our  return  from  Scotland  we 
had  not  heard  from  Stonehouse ;  but  going  in  from  Hamil- 
ton Terrace  to  Lansdowne  Place  last  Saturday  afternoon, 
we  seized  two  letters  from  William,  expecting  a  quantity 
of  news.  The  first  line  told  us  that  she  was  gone ! 
Beyond  the  fact  that  it  was  fever,  and  that  she  was  only 
ni  from  the  Thursday  till  April  3,  when  she  expired  at 
eight  P.M.,  we  have  yet  no  particulars.  To  William  it  is  a 
dreadful  blow  ;  to  all  of  us  a  solemn  warning, — 1  Cor.  vii. 
29-31,  Annie  feels  it  terribly — for  since  they  were  so 
much  together  at  Kilmun,  Christina  had  become  to  her  a 
very  dear  sister.  Having  a  severe  cold,  I  could  not  go 
down  to  the  funeral ;  but  on  Tuesday,  the  hour  of  it,  we 
sat  in  our  darkened  dwelling,  and  thought  how,  at  the 
same  hour  three  short  weeks  before,  we  had  sat  at  her 
table  in  the  very  room  where  the  mourners  would  be 
assembling  in  order  to  carry  her  to  the  grave,  and  we  tried 
as  well  as  we  could  to  give  thanks  for  her  and  to  pray  for 
poor  William.  Three  gone  since  last  April  out  of  one 
small  circle — Jane,  April  15;  little  James,  March  12; 
Christina,  April  3,  I  love  to  think  that  heaven  is  our 
family  home.  They  are  with  Christ,  and  the  grown-up 
survivors,  I  trust,  are  in  Christ. 

2  a 


370  CHURCH  EXTENSION  IN  SCOTLAND. 

"  If  spared,  I  think  to  give  some  lectures  on  Ecclesiastes. 
They  will  be  more  ethical,  literary,  and  sesthetical  than 
pulpit  expositions  usually  are.  I  wish  to  throw  on  the 
book  all  the  biographical,  poetic,  and  all  the  other  cross- 
lights  I  can.  If  God  should  vouchsafe  help,  I  may  possibly 
print  the  substance  afterwards.  Is  there  any  Danish  com- 
mentator on  the  book  ?  or  still  better,  any  poet  or  moralist 
who  has  parallels  to  the  vanitas  vanitatiim,  V 

This  is  the  first  glimpse  of  the  project  which  issued  in 
The  Royal  Preacher. 

In  May  this  year,  Mr.  Hamilton  consented  to  visit 
Glasgow  at  my  request,  for  the  purpose  of  preaching  at 
the  opening  of  a  new  church.  The  occasion  of  this  visit 
marked  a  stage  in  the  series  of  events  which  sprang  from 
the  Disruption.  About  twenty  new  churches  had  been 
erected  by  voluntary  contributions  in  Glasgow  during  the 
ten  years  preceding  1843.  This  was  the  fruit  of  a  great 
zeal  that  had  sprung  up  in  the  Established  Church,  and 
had  for  its  aim  to  supplement  the  deficiencies  of  that 
Church,  so  as  to  make  it,  if  possible,  commensurate  with 
the  wants  of  the  community.  The  influence  of  Dr. 
Chalmers  was  the  mainspring  of  the  movement;  but  a 
numerous  band  of  pubhc-spirited  and  Christian  men  were 
associated  with  him  in  the  work.  The  late  William  Collins, 
publisher,  was  chief  of  the  Glasgow  section,  and  the  twenty 
churches  were  sometimes  called  by  his  name. 

The  property  was  in  the  title-deeds  bound  over  to  the 
Church  of  Scotland.  When  the  Church,  in  1843,  came  out 
free  from   the   State,  the  property  of  all  the  endowed 


THE  QUOAD  SACRA  CHURCHES.        371 

cliiirches  was  handed  over  as  a  matter  of  course  to  the 
body  which  then  succeeded  to  the  functions  and  emolu- 
ments of  the  Establishment ;  but  those  newly  erected  and 
unendowed  chapels  were,  in  the  first  instance,  retained  by 
their  owners  and  possessors,  pending  the  result  of  a  law- 
suit, instituted  for  the  purpose  of  determining  authorita- 
tively the  legal  destination  of  the  property. 

The  Free  Church  occupiers  conceded  that  the  buildings 
were  attached  to  the  Establishment,  but  they  rested  their 
case  on  the  fact  that  the  attachment  was  made  on  condi- 
tion that  the  Church  should  assign  a  parish  to  each,  with 
all  ecclesiastical  rights  and  machinery.  The  Assembly 
had,  for  a  number  of  years,  been  in  the  habit  of  granting 
such  constitutions  to  new  parishes  on  its  own  authority, 
not  presuming  to  constitute  civil  rights,  but  limiting  its 
action  to  the  spiritual  sphere.  These  were  accordingly 
called  parishes  quoad  sacnxi,  that  is,  parishes  that  were 
designated  by  the  Assembly  as  the  sphere  for  minister 
and  elders  in  their  spiritual  capacity,  without  pretending  to 
touch  any  material  property  or  civil  right.  But  by  this 
time  it  had  been  decided  in  the  civil  courts  that  the 
Assembly  of  the  Chm-ch  had  no  right  to  apportion  a  parish 
even  quoad  sacra,  and  that  in  pretending  to  do  so  it  had 
exceeded  its  powers.  The  case  of  the  Free  Church,  ac- 
cordingly, in  claiming  the  property,  w^as  this  :  We  confess 
that  we  bound  the  fabrics  to  the  Established  Church ;  but 
we  bound  them  to  it  with  a  condition — a  condition  which, 
as  now  ruled,  it  is  beyond  the  power  of  the  Church  to 
fulfil :  as  the  Church  cannot  fulfil  the  condition,  it  cannot 
claim  the  property.     Two  things  were  proved,  and  easily 


372  CONGREGATIONS  EJECTED. 

proved  :  first,  that  no  other  assignment  of  a  parish  was 
contemplated  by  the  parties,  than  the  quoad  sacra  assign- 
ment which  the  Clim^ch  at  the  time  was  accustomed  to 
grant ;  and  second,  that  this  assignment  of  a  parish  to  each 
chapel  was  counted  so  essential  that  the  heading  of  the 
subscription  lists,  when  the  money  was  raised,  bore  that, 
unless  this  condition  were  fulfilled,  the  subscribers  would 
not  be  held  to  their  promises. 

The  case  went  through  the  Courts,  and  was  finally  de- 
cided by  the  House  of  Lords,  in  1848,  against  the  claims 
of  the  Free  Church.  It  was  found  that  the  constitution 
given  to  the  churches  was  good  to  bind  the  property  to 
the  Establishment,  but  not  good  to  compel  the  Establish- 
ment to  fulfil  the  condition. 

The  result  was,  that  a  considerable  number  of  the  Free 
Church  congregations  were  suddenly  deprived  of  their 
churches.  They  found  temporary  accommodation  as  well 
as  they  could,  and  proceeded  with  all  speed  to  erect  new 
fabrics.  Mr.  Hamilton,  although  he  had  devoted  his  life 
to  England,  remained  in  complete  sympathy  with  the  Free 
Church  in  her  testimony  and  her  struggle.  To  identify 
himself  with  us  at  this  crisis  he  came  to  Scotland,  and 
preached  in  one  of  these  churches,  St.  Peter's,  Glasgow, 
on  the  last  Sabbath  of  May  1850.  His  visit  was  much 
appreciated,  and  many  old  friends,  both  his  father's  and 
his  own,  gathered  affectionately  round  him. 

"May  1,  1850. 

"  My  dear  Aenot, — I  am  glad  of  the  day  you  have 
fixed  for  the  opening,  the  last  Sabbath  of  May,  for  it  will 
enable  me  to  spend  a  few  days  at  the  Assembly.     I  am 


FIRST  OF  MAY  AT  GLASGOW  COLLEGE.  373 

further  glad  that  you  have  no  week-day  service,  for  a  good 
deal  of  toil,  and  some  grief,  have  made  me  rather  reluctant 
for  extra  services. 

"Dr.  Daff  is  in  town.  I  spent  two  hours  with  him 
yesterday  at  Sir  John  Pirie's.  He  looks  no  older  than 
eleven  years  ago. 

"This  is  the  1st  of  May,  in  London  only  distinguished 
hy  the  dancing  of  chimney-sweeps,  in  Glasgow  by  the 
dofiiug  of  red  gowns.  Dear  Arnot,  are  you  ever  like  to 
cry  when  you  think  of  these  old  May  mornings,  and 
think  what  a  gulf  of  irremeable  years  now  lies  between 
us  and  them  ?  To  you  and  me,  I  take  it,  they  were  much 
alike.  They  brought  a  modest  portion  of  prizes,  enough 
to  make  us  respectable,  without  the  envy  which  accom- 
panied Colquhoun,  and  Mackinlay,  and  Halley,  and  such 
Nimrods  of  the  college,  cunning  prize-hunters ;  a  solatium 
to  take  home  withal,  and  the  sweet  self-complacency  to 
boot,  that  we  could  have  won  more  had  we  chosen.  Just 
now  I  am  looking  at  the  row  of  well-gilt  volumes,  and 
thinking  how  much  brighter  they  looked  when  bran-new 
and  bathed  in  all  the  glory  of  the  Common  Hall.  Alas  ! 
nearly  every  hand  is  in  the  dust  which  wrote  my  name 
in  these  books. 

"  Last  week  I  met  Bailie  Playfair  at  dinner ;  and  we 
recalled  that  glorious  dinner  party,  when  Mr.  Kettle  filled 
us  all  roarin'  fu'  with  jugs  of  water ! 

"  Farewell,  my  dear  friend,  I  hope  our  meeting  may  be 
by  the  will  of  God.  Mrs.  H.  joins  in  kindest  regards  to 
Mrs.  Arnot  and  yourself  She  is  sorry  that  she  cannot 
take  advantage  of  your  kind  invitation.     We  once  hoped 


374  OCCUPATIONS  ON  A  JOURNEY. 

to  have  come  to  Scotland  together  at  this  time,  biit  higher 
wisdom  has  altered  that  plan. — Ever  affectionately  yours, 

"James  Hamilton." 

The  very  thought  of  visiting  Glasgow  awakens  a  crowd 
of  tender  memories.  The  1st  of  May  is  signalized  as 
the  day  when  the  College  of  Glasgow  is  formally  closed 
for  the  season.  The  assembly  in  the  Common  Hall  for 
the  distribution  of  honours  is  an  imposing  and  exciting 
scene. 

The  gentlemen  commemorated  by  name,  were  two  of 
those  Scotch  worthies  who  contributed  to  make  "  Glasgow 
flourish"  when  Hamilton  was  a  student  there,  in  their 
double  capacity  of  earnest  Christians  and  successful  mer- 
chants. The  latter  was  distinguished  by  a  long,  consist- 
ent, and  able  advocacy  of  the  Temperance  cause. 

"Stonehouse,  May  21,  1850. 

"  Beloved  Annie, — The  tear  stood  in  your  eye  when 
we  parted,  and  your  pale  loving  face  followed  me  all  the 
way.  Miss  Young  picked  up  an  acquaintance,  Mr. 
]\rClure,  who  chatted  to  her  m.ost  of  the  way,  till  another 
friend  took  his  place.  So  all  the  day-light  I  read,  and 
in  the  tunnels  I  offered  little  prayers  for  you  and  baby 
and  others  dear.  I  got  through  the  fourth  volume  of 
Southey's  Life,  and  corrected  a  proof-sheet.  The  provi- 
sions were  very  serviceable  ;  but  why  did  you  roguishly 
impose  on  a  Jew  like  me,  sandwiches  of  swine's  flesh  ? 
However,  hunger  is  a  good  casuist,  and  the  sandwiches 
were  all  eaten,  and  have  done  me  no  harm.  At  Mother- 
well I  got  a  labourer,  a  navvy,  to  carry  my  portmanteau, 


OLD  FHIENDS  IN  GLASGOW.  375 

and  at  Hamilton  cliarterecl  a  fly.  It  was  late,  and  the 
toll-keepers  came  out  like  ghosts  to  open  the  gates.  It 
struck  twelve  on  the  village  clock,  just  as  I  drew  up  at 
this  door.  James  Walker,  half- dressed,  opened  it,  and 
soon  William  and  mamma  came  down.  They  had  given 
me  up,  and  gone  to  bed.  Little  Jane  looks  very  delicate. 
She  and  WiUiam  are  in  ecstasies  with  the  musical  cart. 
Poor  William  !  I  have  not  spoken  about  Christina  yet, 
but  we  are  going  out  to  see  her  grave.  Marion  Proud- 
foot  is  here,  and  they  have  got  a  very  nice  maid  for  the 
children.  J.  H." 

"14  Queen's  Teerace,  Glasgow, 
May  25,  1850. 

"  My  deae  Annie, — You  must  never  grow  old,  but  that 
fond  heart  is  to  keep  overflowing  with  affection,  fresh  and 
girlish,  even  when  your  hair  is  grey.  Welcome  cups  of 
cold  water, — only  more  sparkling  and  inspiring  than  cold 
water  are  those  little  libations  of  love  which  the  penny 
post  brings  from  the  lass  I  love  best.  Yesterday's  has 
just  come  in.  Little  Mary  Laird  met  me  with  it  at  the 
door.  I  suppose  her  mamma  had  made  her  understand 
that  it  was  a  very  important  despatch, — at  least  she  was 
carrying  it  enfolded  in  both  arms. 

"  Last  night  Arnot  had  a  party  of  eighteen,  including 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Smyth,  Mrs.  Somerville,  Mrs.  Samuel  Miller, 
Mrs.  Anderson  (Janet  HaUey).^  On  Monday  he  is  to 
have  a  breakfast." 

1  Sistei"  of  the  deceased  student,  his  companion  during  all  his  illness  in 
Madeira,  a  feminine  counterpart  both  of  his  talents  and  his  principles,  much 
remembered  by  the  generation  of  students  who  were  contemporary  with  her 
brother. 


376  PREACHING  IN  GLASGOW. 

"  Glasgow,  Monday  Morning, 
Marj  27,  1850. 

"  My  deae  Wife, — We  had  a  grand  day  yesterday — not 
meteorologically  grand,  for  it  was  raining,  but  the  services 
were  interesting  and  well  attended.  I  preached  in  the 
morning  and  evening,  Mr.  Arnot  in  the  afternoon.  In 
the  morning  and  afternoon  the  regular  seatholders  were 
admitted  by  tickets  ;  in  the  evening  there  were  no  tickets, 
and  it  was  fine  to  see  the  mighty  mass  of  people  who 
made  the  interior  a  pavement  of  'living  stones.'  The 
collection  was  £434,  15s. 

"  They  had  over  to  tea  on  Saturday  evening  Dr.  Mac- 
Gilvray  and  his  wife  (Miss  Hooker),^  whom  I  was  very 
glad  to  meet  again. 

"  Edin.,  5  p.m. — On  my  way  here  I  turned  aside  for  two 
hours  at  Blair  Lodge,  and  saw  James  and  Tommy  Gil- 
lespie. Mr.  Cunningham's  is  an  excellent  school, — much 
more  happy  and  home-like  than  anything  I  have  seen  in 
England." 

Having  been  nominated  on  this  occasion  on  the  depu- 
tation from  his  own  Synod  to  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Free  Church,  he  took  the  opportunity  of  speaking  his 
mind  fully  on  some  points  which  were  intensely  interest- 
ing to  himself,  and  ought  to  have  interested  deeply  his 
audience.  As  the  topics  of  his  speech  on  that  occasion 
constituted  the  chief  practical  aims  of  his  life,  and  the 
audience  he  addressed  was,  for  his  purposes,  by  far  the 
most  influential  that  existed,  there  is  no  more  effectual 

1  Daugliter  of  his  faithful  friend  and  tcaclicr.  Sir  William  Hooker, 


SPEECH  IN  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY.  377 

way  of  illustrating  his  character  than  by  introducing  the 
substance  of  his  speech.  He  was  most  affectionately  re- 
ceived, and  his  words  were  not  permitted  to  fall  to  the 
ground. 

"...  There  was  a  threefold  function  for  an  orthodox 
Presbyterianism  in  England,  It  should  first  of  all  be  a 
home  for  expatriated  Scotchmen — a  nursing  mother  for 
your  Church's  orphan  children.  For  remember  how  many 
Scotchmen  are  located  in  England.  Why,  sir,  in  a  single 
large  town  of  England  you  will  find  as  many  Scotchmen 
as  in  some  of  our  northern  counties.  There  are  nearly  as 
many  Scotchmen  in  London  as  in  Edinburgh.  And  what 
becomes  of  them  ?  In  the  absence  of  Presbyterian  ordi- 
nances, what  is  the  fate  of  these  immigrants  ?  In  Clifton 
and  Cheltenham,  and  Brighton  and  Hastings,  and  such 
places,  where  our  refined  and  wealthy  countrymen  go  to 
live  for  the  sake  of  their  far-famed  salubrity,  they  join 
the  Church  of  England,  and  the  pious  parents  become  the 
right  arm  of  the  evangelical  clergymen ;  but  their  children, 
M.  and  N".,  who  received  a  Christian's  name  in  their 
baptismal  regeneration,  turn  out  Puseyites — the  girls  em- 
broidering altar-cloths  and  fald-stool  covers,  and  the  boys 
making  High  Church  speeches  in  Parliament.  And  then 
the  pious  tradesman  or  steady  artisan  from  your  Lowlands 
who  settles  in  a  provincial  town,  finding  no  Presbyterian 
Church,  as  the  next  best  joins  the  Baptist  or  Independent 
chapel,  and  soon,  by  dint  of  superior  intelligence  and 
sound  theology,  backed  by  his  manly  bearing,  you  will 
find  him  in  a  few  years  the  principal  deacon,  the  chief 
supporter  of  a  congregation,  which,  however  excellent,  is 


378      LACK  OF  THEOLOGICAL  EDUCATION. 

not  a  Presbyterian.  AVhilst  a  much  larger  class,  many 
of  the  artisans  and  clever  operatives,  breaking  loose  from 
the  relio'ious  restraint  of  their  fatherland,  sit  down  in  the 
seat  of  the  scorner,  become  libertines  and  lawless  livers, 
and  in  workshops  and  factories,  as  the  apostles  of  Social- 
ism and  the  champions  of  infidelity,  pervert  their  good 
education  to  the  perdition  of  their  hapless  companions,  and 
bring  a  stigma  on  the  land  whose  faith  they  have  re- 
nounced, and  from  whose  virtues  they  have  apostatized. 

"  But  besides  proving  a  timely  home  for  these  wanderers, 
an  effective  Presbyterian  church  might  be  an  asylum  to 
many  refugees  from  the  Church  of  England.  At  this 
moment  there  are  doubtless  many  who,  in  the  event  of 
coming  calamity,  are  marvelling  into  what  community  to 
convey  themselves  and  their  children.  Would  that  our 
Church  were  so  fidly  equipped  and  so  conspicuous  that, 
in  its  sound  doctrine  and  scriptural  organization,  they  saw 
a  ready  ark  against  the  coming  deluge  ! 

"  And  this  leads  me  to  add,  as  a  third  good  service  which 
our  Church  might  render — it  might  serve  as  a  tonic  to 
English  theology.  My  friend  Mr.  Macgilvray  remarked 
to  me  last  night  that  England  is  not  the  land  for  testi- 
monies. The  reason  is,  that  England  is  not  the  land  for 
theology.  As  you  are  aware,  theology  is  scarcely  taught 
at  all  in  the  English  universities  ;  and  though  the  Dis- 
senters are  very  anxious  to  provide  theological  train- 
ing for  their  ministers,  many  of  their  pastors  never 
pass  through  their  colleges.  The  consequence  is,  that 
the  usual  ministrations  of  English  pulpits  are  in  doc- 
trine very  meagre    and  jejune;   and   consequently  Eng- 


FAILURE  OF  THE  RED  CLOVER.  3  79 

lish  piety,  even  when  most  fervent,  is  ill  able  to  give 
a  reason  for  its  faith.  In  fact,  English  piety  is  too  mol- 
luscous. It  is  sadly  in  want  of  vertebrae.  It  needs 
a  back-bone.  And  nowhere  would  the  food  convenient 
be  better  bestowed,  which  within  its  soft  frame  would 
go  to  form  the  bones  and  cartilas^e.  And  with  the 
orthodox  osteology  of  their  own  English  confessions  and 
catechisms  (for  the  Westminster  standards  are  English), 
with  the  firm  substructure  of  a  sound  and  Puritan  evan- 
gelism, covered  over  with  the  flesh  and  sinews  and  mant- 
ling life's-blood  of  English  virtues  and  Enghsh  graces, 
southern  piety  would  stand  on  its  feet  exceeding  strong  and 
fair,  withal  able  to  '  testify '  and  to  adorn  its  testimony. 

"  When  I  was  assistant  to  a  minister  in  the  Carse  of 
Gowrie,  I  often  heard  it  mooted  among  the  farmers, 
'  What  ails  the  red  clover  ?  surely  tlie  Ian'  has  ta'en  a 
scunner  at  the  red  clover  ? '  Perhaps,  sir,  the  author  of  the 
Manse  Garden  could  have  solved  the  mystery ;  but  really 
I  could  not  tell  how  a  plant,  wdiich  had  once  gi'ow^n  freely, 
and  been  almost  naturalized,  had  sickened  of  the  soil. 
The  same  question  is  now  often  put  to  me,  but  in  another 
shape.  I  have  been  asked.  What  ails  Presbyterianism  ? 
surely  the  soil  has  taken  a  scunner  at  our  system  ?  And 
I  am  told  of  able  and  excellent  ministers  who  have  aban- 
doned the  field  in  despair,  and  come  home  thoroughly 
disheartened.  Now,  I  might  answer,  first  of  all,  that  Pres- 
byterianism has  never  got  a  chance.  Till  of  late  the 
clover  seed  was  about  as  bad  as  could  be.  Not  only  had 
we  to  bear  the  reproach  of  Socinianism,  but  many  of  the 
ministers  who  supplied  our  churches  were  the  refuse  of 


380  LACK  OF  ADAPTATION. 

Scotland — dead  and  useless  moderates,  or  dissipated  and 
disgraceful  men.  But  though  that  reproach  is  wiped 
away,  we  have  still  to  contend  with  many  drawbacks. 
Soon  after  their  coming  amongst  us,  some  of  our  ministers 
have  been  attacked  by  violent  home-sickness  ;  and  when- 
ever we  hear  the  tune,  '  My  heart 's  in  the  Highlands,'  we 
next  expect  to  see  the  musician  in  the  express  train  on 
the  Great  North  line ;  and  then  the  next  spring  will  be, 
'  I  '11  gang  nae  mair  to  yon  toon.' 

"  Then,  again,  many  have  formed  most  extravagant  ex- 
pectations. Coming  to  England,  the  romance  of  Edward 
Irving  floated  before  their  eyes,  and  because  all  England  did 
not  run  to  hear  them  dii'ectly,they  could  not  forgive  the  dul- 
ness  or  capriciousness  of  the  English ;  whereas  they  would 
have  been  wise  to  set  to  work  as  missionaries,  with  the  view 
of  their  becoming  ministers ;  by  pains  and  personal  assiduity 
gathering  round  them  a  few,  and  then,  with  the  help  of  these 
few,  gathering  more.  But  the  gi'and  cause  of  failure  is  the 
want  of  adaptation.  Some  say  that  our  psalms,  and  tunes, 
and  prayers  are  not  adapted  to  the  Enghsh ;  but  I  have 
always  thought  that  we  might  soon  find  the  service 
adapted,  if  we  took  pains  to  adapt  ourselves.  The  Eng- 
lish are  eminently  practical  To  a  theological  lecture 
they  any  day  prefer  a  living  epistle ;  and  if  they  have  no 
other  choice,  they  will  take  to  a  genial  Arminian  rather 
than  to  a  ghim  Calvinist,  In  this  they  may  be  wrong, 
but  still  they  do  it ;  and  therefore  we  should  show  tliem 
Calvinism  and  Presbyterianism  in  their  most  genial  aspect. 
The  two  favours  which  we  more  especially  ask  of  the  Free 
Church — and  we  ask  them  as  your  little  sister,  very  little, 


SCOTCH  AND  ENGLISH  PIETY.  381 

but  very  loving,  and  who  can  do  so  mucli  for  us  as  you  ? 
— are,  first,  that  you  would  introduce  to  some  one  of  our 
ministers  all  families  and  all  young  men  proceeding  to  a 
residence  in  England.  Many  ministers  already  are  in  the 
habit  of  doing  this,  and  it  has  been  the  saving  of  hundreds. 
One  other  request  is,  that  you  would  give  a  kind  con- 
sideration to  our  calls.  In  the  famous  '45,  and  when  the 
rebels  were  in  Edinburgh,  one  night  a  Highland  follower 
of  the  Prince  was  taken  up  by  the  watch,  because  it  was 
plain  that  he  could  not  take  care  of  himself  And  when, 
in  the  guard-house,  he  came  somewhat  to  his  senses,  his 
first  ejaculation  was  '  Hech,  sirs !  it 's  sair  wark  flittin' 
thae  kincjs  ! '  We  in  England  have  found  it  sair  work 
flitting  Free  Church  ministers.  Some  of  us  have  travelled 
thousands  of  miles  on  the  errand,  and  never  once  suc- 
ceeded. Perhaps  after  this  we  may  find  it  easier.  Per- 
haps we  may  be  so  happy  as  to  find  ministers  who  can 
realize  the  mighty  advantages  for  usefulness  conferred  on 
them  by  labouring  in  that  region,  which  is  really  the  heart 
of  the  world. "... 

In  a  conversation  with  Mr.  W.  Dickson  of  Edinburgh, 
he  undertook  to  exhibit  the  distinction  between  the  Eng- 
lish and  the  Scotch  type  of  Christianity.  English  Chris- 
tianity, he  said,  is,  "  God  so  loved  the  world,"  etc.  Scotch 
Christianity  is,  "  Being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace 
with  God,"  etc. 

"London,  July  1,  1850. 
"  My  dear  William, —   .   .    .  We  have  a  number  of 
Americans  at  church  at  present.     The  only  noted  ones 


382  PROJECTS. 

(besides  my  old  friend  Mr.  Lenox)  are,  Professor  Hitchcock 
the  geologist,  and  Mr.  Tappan,  of  their  Tract  Society,  who 
says  that  my  books  have  a  far  wider  circulation  in  America 
than  in  Britain.  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  it ;  for  I  have  a 
great  affinity  for  America." 

"  7  Lansdowne  Place,  July  7,  1S50. 

"  To-day,  my  frame  of  mind  has  been  somewhat  de- 
votional Yesterday  and  to-day,  I  have  been  again  and 
again  drawn  to  the  throne  of  grace,  and  in  the  '  confes- 
sion of  sin,'  and  '  offering  up  of  desires,'  trust  that  I  realized 
something  of  the  spirit  of  prayer. 

"  The  quiet  of  the  last  four  days  suggests  to  me  that  I 
live  too  much  in  a  hurry.  The  death  of  dear  Jane  last 
year,  and  Christina's  this  spring,  were  solemn  incidents  in 
our  family  history  ;  but  I  got  no  time  to  lay  them  to  heart. 
I  find,  too,  that  secret  prayer  is  often  shortened  by  the 
daily  pressure.  And  though  I  cannot  run  about  with  the 
ubiquitous  agihty  of  some,  the  same  injurious  effect  is 
produced  by  the  perpetual  bustle  of  my  thoughts.  I  am 
always  scheming  something,  or  anxious  about  something, 
and  have  much  need,  as  Annie  told  me,  to  set  a  bridle  on 
the  brain. 

"  My  projects  at  present  are — 

"  1.  Biographical  sketches  of  Watts  and  Doddridge  (two 
articles),  and  their  contemporaries. 

"These  for  the  N.  British  Review.  They  would  be 
two  more  chapters  in  that  bird's-eye  survey  of  British 
Christianity,  of  which  '  Simeon '  is  one  chapter.  And  I 
expect  tills  good  for  myself,  that  they  might  help  me 


BIBLE  MONOPOLY.  383 

towards  tliat  idea  of  Christianity,  catholic  but  earnest,  at 
which  I  try  to  arrive. 

"  2.  Lectures  on  Ecclesiastes,  to  my  own  people  in  the 
first  instance,  for  publication  afterwards. 

"  3.  A  Manual,  which  might  answer  the  purpose  of  a 
modern  '  Eise  and  Progress.'  For  this  considerable  mate- 
rials lie  dispersed  through  my  sermons,  and  it  might  very 
well  be  made  the  basis  of  a  practical  course  to  my  own 
congregation.  This  last,  if  God  give  me  health'  and  ability, 
might  be  the  most  useful  of  my  books  ;  I  would  therefore 
take  pains  with  it." 

Dr.  Thomson  of  Coldstream,  an  able  and  estimable 
minister  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church,  for  many 
years  waged  a  great  warfare  against  the  monopoly  of 
printing  the  Bible  that  was  enjoyed  for  generations  by  a 
certain  mercantile  firm  in  Scotland,  and  certain  corpora- 
tions in  England.  His  perseverance  and  energy  contri- 
buted greatly  to  get  the  monopoly  removed,  and  to  cheapen 
the  Scriptm-es  to  the  people.  But  having  himself  set 
up  a  printing  establishment,  with  the  benevolent  object 
of  still  further  reducing  the  price,  and  so  extending  the 
circulation  of  the  Word,  he  was  unsuccessful,  and  became 
bankrupt.  An  appeal  was  made  for  his  relief.  It  was  a 
nice  case.  "Whatever  view  one  may  take  of  the  point  in 
debate,  James  Hamilton's  letter  is,  we  think,  precious  as 
an  example  of  perfect  frankness  in  expressing  an  adverse 
judgment,  instead  of  shuffling  and  hiding  under  a  reason 
that  is  not  real  : — 


384      PUBLIC  APPEALS  FOR  RELIEF  OF  MINISTERS. 

TO  THE  REV. 

"Boulogne,  Aug.  22,  1850. 
"  IMy  dear  *  *  *, — It  was  only  this  morning  that  yours 
of  the  15th  overtook  me  here  ;  and  thus  I  am  sorry  that 
it  has  remained  long  unanswered.  And  now  that  I  am 
writing,  I  wish  that  I  felt  free  to  comply  with  your  request. 
For  Dr.  Thomson  personally  I  have  a  true  esteem,  and 
deeply  sympathize  in  the  heavy  losses  which  he  has  sus- 
tained. At  first,  too,  I  was  disposed  to  join  in  this  move- 
ment, but  on  talking  over  the  matter  with  several  intelligent 
friends,  I  found  that  they  did  not  view  it  in  the  same 
light.  Considering  the  public  spirit  by  which  Dr.  Thomson 
was  actuated,  and  the  hardship  of  his  case,  they  argued 
that  it  was  just  one  of  those  hardships  to  which  publishers 
and  commercial  men  are  continually  exposed,  and  that  if 
there  were  any  speciality  in  the  Doctor's  case,  it  was  rather 
ao-amst  than  for  him,  inasmuch  as  a  minister  should  not 
overstep  his  line  of  things,  nor  entangle  himself  with 
mercantile  matters.  Whatever  may  be  the  justice  of  such 
reasonings,  I  find  they  are  held  by  so  many  as  to  make  an 
appeal  from  the  pulpit  a  matter  of  doubtful  expediency ; 
and  it  is  only  candid  to  add  that,  in  the  present  state  of 
my  information,  I  am  inclined  to  acquiesce  in  them. 
Besides,  as  a  general  consideration,  public  appeals  on 
behalf  of  ministers  in  pecuniary  difficulties  are  much  to 
be  deprecated.  Their  tendency  is  to  lower  the  ministry, 
and  compromise  the  religion  of  which  they  are  the  official 
expounders.  I  assure  you  that  it  would  have  given  me 
o-reat  delight  to  comply  with  a  request  conveyed  by  you ; 
and  that  I  would  have  felt  it  a  privilege  to  see  Eegent 


HIS  LIBRARY.  385 

Square  pulpit  occupied  by  any  one  of  tlie  distinguished 
ministers  who  form  the  deputation.  But  for  the  reasons 
above  mentioned,  I  fear  that  I  cannot  take  part  in  the 
present  movement.  Instead  of  an  evading  reply,  I  have 
also  thought  it  best  to  state  the  difficulties  I  feel. — Believe 
me,  my  dear  Sir,  most  truly  yours, 

"  James  Hamilton." 

to  mk.  james  watson. 

"7  Lansdowxe  Plack,  July  5,  1S50. 

"  My  dear  rRiEND,^No  miser  can  ever  have  gloated 
over  gold  as  I  revel  over  books, — books  that  go  to  swell 
my  own  hoard.  But  when  that  monster  parcel  arrived  on 
Wednesday  afternoon,  soon  after  we  parted,  my  temples 
were  throbbing  with  incipient  fever,  and  it  was  not  till 
to-day,  when  I  came  down-stairs  somewhat  recovered,  that 
I  entered  into  the  full  fruition.  All  this  evening  I  have 
been  a  cow  among  clover,  and  now  that  I  reahze  my 
riches,  I  must  send  a  word  of  thanks  for  the  Poole  and  the 
Kitto  and  the  endless  Biographies,  the  most  satisfying 
banquet  that  was  ever  furnished  to  a  morbid  appetite  for 
printed  paper,  a  monomania  lihrorum.  I  am  almost  re- 
conciled that  my  head  is  too  weak  for  writing,  as  it  will 
justify  me  in  two  days  of  reading. 

"If  spared  to  get  them  arranged  in  another  house,  I 
must  write  a  catalogue  of  my  tomes.  This  would  bring 
up  some  curious  discoveries.  Several  of  my  books  have 
belonged  to  interesting  persons.  To-day  I  found  out 
that  my  copy  of  Jackson's  ^\^orks  belonged  to  Jortin,  the 
biographer  of  Erasmus.     It  has  his  autograph.     My  Char- 

2b 


386  NEANDER  AND  VINET. 

nock  belonged  to  Eb.  Erskine,  but  in  repairing  it  (in  my 
father's  time)  the  binder  cut  away  the  name.  I  have 
books  that  belonged  to  Bishop  Burnet,  Dr.  Jo.  Erskine, 
etc.,  and  others  would  cast  up. 

"Already  (partly  through  your  help)  my  collection  of 
religious  biography  is  as  large  as  any  that  I  know. 

"  James  Hamilton." 


"  42  GowER  Street,  London, 
Sept.  20,  1850. 

"My  dear  Andrew, —  .  .  .  When  we  heard  from 
William  last  week,  they  were  all  well.  Mamma  had  gone 
across  to  spend  a  fortnight  at  Carnwath.  William's  beau- 
tiful schools  are  now  completed,  at  a  cost  of  a  thousand 
pounds  to  Uncle  Thomas. 

"You  are  going  to  Berhn,  but  you  will  not  see  your 
old  friend  Neander,  nor  grasp  again  his  shadowy  hand. 
It  is  a  sign  how  self-contained  and  self-satisfied  English 
Theology  is,  that  the  disappearance  of  such  a  man  has 
produced  no  sensation  here.  Neither  did  the  death  of 
Vinet  a  few  years  ago.  But  I  see  that  the  American 
papers  say  a  great  deal  about  Neander.  D'Aubigne  is 
the  only  foreign  divine  whose  death  would  be  much  felt 
in  Britain.  Indeed  we  are  a  very  apathetic  incurious 
people,  the  religious  world  I  mean.  Last  night  I  had 
here  a  Dutch  preacher  goiug  out  to  the  Cape.  He  spoke 
in  ecstasies  about  Van  Oostersee  as  the  greatest  pulpit 
orator  whom  Holland  had  ever  produced ;  but  I  cannot 
say  that  I  ever  heard  his  name.   .   .   . 

"Poor  Hewitson,  after  months  of  extremcst  weakness 


STUDY  OF  ECCLESIASTES.  387 

is  entered  into  rest.  His  talents  were  not  of  the  highest 
order ;  hut  his  devotedness  and  his  spirituality  were,  and 
the  work  in  Madeira  was  enough  to  signahze  any  ministry. 
"  You  are  not  sanguine  ahout  English  Presbyterianism. 
At  present  we  are  sufficiently  forlorn  in  London^  with 
Nicolson,  Ferguson,  and  Young  away." 

"  42  GowER  Street,  London, 
Sept.  23,  1850. 

"  j\Iy  dear  Andeew, — I  hope  you  got  the  letter  which 
I  addressed  to  you  at  Dr.  Daumann's  last  Friday,  and 
which  contained  any  little  news  I  had.  I  am  now  fairly 
installed  in  my  library,  and  a  noble  room  it  is.  I  have 
begun  a  series  of  lectures  on  Ecclesiastes,  to  which  I  hope 
I  have  got  the  clue.  Of  recent  German  commentators  I 
have  Umbreit,  and  Kostes,  and  Knobel.  If  there  is  any 
other  good  thing  in  German  within  the  last  twelve  years 
I  shall  be  glad  to  get  it,  and  will  in  due  time  indemnify 
you  for  it.  This  winter  I  make  no  engagements  away 
from  home ;  except,  perhaps,  that  I  shall  exchange  with 
Dr.  Candlish  two  Sabbaths  in  February,  so  that  I  hope  to 
have  an  unprecedented  bout  of  reading  and  writing.  It 
is  curious  that  I  should  be  lecturing  on  vanitas  vanita- 
tum  at  a  time  that  I  have  all  and  abound,  health,  a  com- 
modious house,  a  sufficient  income,  plenty  of  friends,  wife 
and  child  quite  well,  congregation  thriving  and  aU  going 
smoothly  there  ;  and  betwixt  these  outward  comforts  and 
higher  hopes,  my  mind  for  some  time  past  in  a  perpetual 
key  of  contentment.  This  perhaps  makes  the  Book  more 
a  word  in  season ;   but,  at  the  same  time,  I  do  not  put 


388  REV.  DR.  JOHN  BROWN. 

that  Trappian  interpretation  on  the  Book  which  most 
expositors  have  done." 

An  affectionate  note  from  the  late  Dr.  John  Brown,  of 
Edinburgh,  an  eminent  theologian  and  a  personal  friend  of 
his  father,  should  find  a  place  here.  The  colleague,  now 
successor,  to  whom  Dr.  Brown  refers,  is  Dr.  Andrew 
Thomson,  who  paced  the  dingy  courts  of  Glasgow  College 
with  Hamilton,  when  both  were  young,  and  has  run  a 
parallel  career  with  him  of  honour  and  usefulness  in  the 
northern  capital :  ^ — 

"  Arthur's  Lodge,  Newington, 
Sept.  28,  1850. 
"Eeverend  and  dear  Sir, — Many,  many  thanks  for  your 
kind  and  valuable  present.  You  have  long  been  among 
my  a^airrjToi  Sea  tou?  irarepa'^,  and  your  hold  on  my 
esteem  and  love  is  by  no  means  all  hereditary.  It  is 
always  a  satisfaction  to  me  to  know  that  I  am  loved  by 
those  whom  I  love.  I  have  run  over  Hooker  with  much 
interest.  It  is  by  no  means  a  specimen  of  very  strict 
exegesis,  but  it  is  full  to  an  overflow  of  a  holy,  benignant 
spirit.  Should  a  second  edition  of  my  Exposition  be  re- 
quired, I  will  enrich  its  margin  with  some  extracts  from 
the  old  New  England  Puritan.  My  colleague,  who,  with 
his  family,  are  now  in  the  country,  will,  I  know,  most 
cordially  receive  your  salutation.  I  regret  that  circum- 
stances will  prevent  me  from  meeting  my  brethren  at  the 
approaching  conference  at  Liverpool.     I  cannot  wish  them 

1  A  generous  and  appreciative  sketch  of  Hamilton,  written  bj' Dr.  Thomson, 
appeared  in  the  Christian  Times,  22d  November  1849. 


BIRTH  OF  HIS  SON".  389 

anytliing  better  than  such  a  meeting  as  they  last  had 
here.  I  do  not  expect  to  witness  anything  more  like 
heaven  on  earth.  With  heart-felt  wishes  for  your  per- 
sonal happiness  and  your  success  in  all  your  labours  in 
the  cause  of  our  common  Lord,— I  am,  rev.  and  dear 
Sir,  yours  most  faithfully,  John  Brown." 

TO  ME.  WILLIAM  HAMILTON. 

"  London,  Oct.  21,  1850. 

"My  dear  Mr,  Hamilton, — The  Messeriger  and  the 
usual  avocations  of  Monday  leave  me  only  a  few  minutes, 
before  the  letter-box  closes,  to  thank  you  for  your 
much-prized  letter  of  Monday.  How  often  there  is  a 
crook  in  the  lot !  And  how  vexing  it  would  seem  that 
just  on  arriving  at  such  a  beautiful  coast,  Mrs.  Hamilton 
should  hurt  her  foot,  and  be  incapacitated  for  fully  enjoy- 
ing it.  To  a  slug  like  me,  who  could  stick  to  this  arm- 
chair for  a  week,  and  rather  like  it,  the  hardship  would  be 
less ;  but  to  peripatetics  like  yourselves,  the  privation  is 
very  great.  But  even  a  strained  foot  is  among  the  things 
that  will  work  together  for  good. 

"  You  kindly  ask  after  Annie.  Do  you  know  that  yes- 
terday she  got  a  son  ?  I  was  going  to  say  a  little  son,  but 
he  is  not  at  all  little,  very  large,  and,  I  must  confess,  not 
very  pretty.  She  lierseK  is  getting  on  nicely.  It  was  not 
the  best  time  for  study ;  but,  foreseeing  such  a  possible  in- 
terruption, I  had  got  both  sermons  set  agoing  early. 

"  Many  thanks  for  your  kind  inquiries  about  the  ex- 
chequer.    But  at  present '  I  have  all,  and  abound.'     The 


390      EEASONS  FOR  STAYING  AT  HOME. 

other  chefjue,  about  wliicli  you  know,  will  last  very  well 
till  you  return,  J.  H." 

"  42  GowER  Street,  London, 
Oct.  22,  1850. 

"My  dear  Andrew, —  ...  I  liope  the  Saga  you 
mention  has  not  been  translated.  I  think  I  can  find  out. 
Such  a  book  would  not  be  likely  to  have  much  run,  unless 
you  could  popularize  it  by  a  historical  preface  and  mythi- 
cal notes,  written  in  a  racy  or  gossiping  style.  But  such 
a  book,  thoroughly  and  carefully  done,  would  be  an  im- 
portant contribution  to  literature,  and  I  think  you  should 
by  all  means  go  on  with  it.    .   .    . 

"  I  fear  to  hold  out  any  prospect  of  a  visit  to  Berlin 
this  winter.  I  would  almost  say  any  winter.  ]\Iy  frame 
is  not  robust  enough  for  journeys  through  the  frost.  And 
besides,  it  will  be  no  easy  thing  to  get  away.  An  article 
for  the  North  British,  promised  to  your  old  friend  Pro- 
fessor Eraser,  and  a  lecture  to  the  Young  IVIen's  Associa- 
tion, and  an  exchange  with  Dr.  Candlish  for  a  fortnight 
in  February,  along  with  the  Messenger  and  sundry  tracts, 
and  the  possibility  of  preparing  for  the  press  my  lectures 
on  Ecclesiastes,  leave  me  very  hard  up  for  time.  If  it 
were  summer,  and  I  were  single,  there  is  no  saying  what  I 
might  do ;  but  when  you  come  to  be  a  steady-going  mhiis- 
ter,  with  a  wife  and  family,  and  have  got  your  house  and 
library  all  to  your  mind,  you  will  find  your  erratic  and 
exploring  propensities  wonderfully  die  away." 

James  Hamilton  was  not  a  controversialist.  His  whole 
mind  and  character  were  cast  in  another  mould.      Even 


STEONG  CONVICTIONS  AS  A  PflOTESTANT.         391 

where  it  is  a  just  and  necessary  service,  lie  rather  left 
controversy  to  others,  and  plied  liis  own  departments,  of 
unfolding  positively  Divine  truth,  and  enforcing  practical 
holiness.  It  would,  however,  be  a  great  mistake  to  sup- 
pose he  was  more  tolerant  than  his  brethren  of  any  error 
that  subverts  the  Gospel.  Of  Popery  in  particular,  and  of 
Popish  tendencies  in  English  prelacy,  he  entertained  a 
healthy  Protestant  horror.  In  Church  and  State  alike  he 
was  liberal,  both  from  conviction  and  from  an  apparently 
innate  habit  of  mind ;  but  he  never  slipped  into  that 
species  of  liberalism  which  holds  it  a  point  of  honour  to 
ignore  the  difference  between  the  slavish  system  of  Papal 
Eome  and  the  great  Protestant  principles  of  private  judg- 
ment and  the  sufficiency  of  Scripture.  With  all  his 
gentleness  he  was  a  Protestant  of  the  Martin  Luther  and 
John  Knox  type  ;  and  when  occasion  called  for  it  he  was 
ready  to  express  publicly  his  convictions  without  reserve. 
The  circumstances  of  the  time  seem  to  demand  that  the 
testimony  of  such  a  man  regarding  these  subjects  should 
not  be  concealed.  It  is  our  duty  to  permit  him  for  once 
to  speak  out  his  own  Protestantism,  that  all  men  may 
know  of  what  sort  it  was.  We  subjoin  an  extract,  suffi- 
ciently large  to  exhibit  his  views  in  their  connexion,  from 
an  address  to  his  own  congregation,  delivered  on  17th 
November  1850,  under  the  title,  "Eomanism  :  its  Hoot  of 
Bitterness  :" — 

"  God  is  light,  and  God  is  love.  The  Gospel  is  the  grand 
outlet  of  Infinite  purity  and  Divine  benevolence ;  and  Chris- 
tianity, or  the  religion  which  the  Gospel  creates,  is  the  reli- 
gion of  daylight  and  goodness.  He  is  the  man  most  Christian 
who  into  his  own  soul  has  admitted  the  greatest  amount  of 


392  "  LOOK  ox  THIS  PIOTUKE, 

God's  merciful  kindness,  and  who  in  his  conduct  gives  forth 
the  largest  measure  of  God's  beautiful  holiness — the  man  who 
'  walks  in  light,'  and  '  dwells  in  love,'  afraid  of  nothing  holy, 
afraid  of  nothing  true. 

"  The  bright  embodiment  of  God's  truth  and  goodness  was 
His  own  incarnate  Son.  '  He  was  the  true  liglit  Avhich  light- 
eth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world,'  and  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  features  in  Christ's  character  was  the  pro- 
fusion with  which  He  scattered  the  sublime  beauties  of  which 
He  was  the  repository,  as  well  as  the  patient  and  public  life 
He  led.  The  Saviour  had  no  secret.  During  the  years  of 
His  ministry  He  had  not  even  a  home — no  retirement  into 
which  He  could  withdraw  and  gather  a  whispering  conclave 
round  Him ;  and  all  the  time,  and  Avith  full  knowledge  of  his 
treachery.  He  retained  in  His  immediate  retinue  one  who  was 
an  eaves-dropper  and  a  spy.  So  little  reserve  was  there  in 
His  teaching  that  Avhen  interi'Ogated  regarding  it.  He  said  to 
the  Hebrew  Pontiff,  '  I  spake  openly  in  the  world ;  I  ever 
taught  in  the  synagogue  and  in  the  temple,  whitlier  the  Jews 
always  resort,  and  in  secret  have  I  said  nothing.  Why  askest 
thou  me  ?  ask  them  who  heard  me,  what  I  have  said  unto 
them';  behold,  they  know  what  I  have  said.'  And  so  anxious 
was  He  for  the  diffusion  of  His  doctrine,  that  He  not  only 
enjoined  His  disciples  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  teach  it ; 
but  if  there  was  any  truth  which  He  had  told  them  in  His 
more  private  interviews.  He  charged  them  to  divulge  it. 
'  That  which  ye  have  heard  in  the  ear  in  secret,  proclaim  ye 
on  the  house  tops.'  Truth-freighted,  light-loving,  His  con- 
stant appeal  was  to  that  magazine  of  light  which  already 
existed  in  the  older  Testament ;  and  He  entreated  the  Jews 
to  '  search  the  Scriptures,  for  they  are  they  which  testify  of 
me;'  and  as  if  there  were  a  natural  affinity  between  the 
Saviour  and  the  sunshine,  most  of  His  discourses  were  de- 
livered under  the  open  sky,  and  surrounded  with  the  full 
glare  of  a  bright  Eastern  atmosphere. 

"  And  whilst  the  part  of  the  Saviour  was  thus  frank  and 
explicit,  the  substance  of  His  teaching  was  singularly  direct 
and  real.  Except  two  ordinances  of  the  simplest  character, 
and  for  which  He  prescribed  no  rubric,  He  never  instituted 


AND  ON  THAT."  393 

any  ceremony,  but  the  Avhole  weight  of  His  instruction  bore 
on  the  one  theme — practical  i)iety.    .    .    . 

"  Such  is  Christianity  as  I  find  in  its  earliest  records — 
Divine  Majesty  in  its  truths,  and  in  the  worship  and  conduct 
of  its  professors  a  heavenly  day-spring,  a  religion  worthy  of 
that  God  whose  name  is  Light  and  Love.  But  let  us  fancy 
that  we  have  slept  a  thousand  years,  and  that  now  we  awake 
again.  And  what  have  we  herel  So  dusky  is  the  atmo- 
sjjhere  that  we  must  wait  till  our  eyes  forget  the  sunshine 
and  conform  to  the  '  dim  religious  light'  of  mediaival  Chris- 
tianity. But  this  is  a  Catholic  cathedral,  and  through  an 
atmosphere  grey  with  pastiles  and  smoking  incense,  I  can  now 
descry  in  a  scarlet  cloak,  in  scarlet  hat,  and  scarlet  hosen,  a 
figure  enthroned,  and  purporting  to  be  the  facsimile  of  Peter 
the  fisherman.  And  those  unearthly  figures,  with  shaven 
crowns  and  tawdry  tinsel  down  their  backs,  so  abundant  in 
their  bodily  exercise — 'Who  are  these  1'  'These  are  Chris- 
tian priests.'  '  But  why  is  there  that  stern  partition  between 
the  priests  inside  the  railing  and  the  spiritual  priests  all 
through  the  church  V  'Ah,  do  you  not  understand  :  his 
Excellency  the  Cardinal,  my  Lord  the  Bishop,  as  well  as  these 
reverend  priests,  belong  to  a  different  order  from  the  common 
herd  of  Christians  outside.'  '  This  was  not  the  way  in  the 
Apostles'  time,  when  one  was  our  Master,  even  Christ,  and 
there  were  no  lords  over  God's  heritage,  but  all  alike  were 
"holy  brethren.'"  'AVhat  are  they  saying^  What  curious 
sounds  are  those  which  catch  my  earl — "Adjuro  vos  per 
Dominum,  ut  legatur  epistola  ha^c  omnibus  Sanctis.'"  'It 
merely  means,  "  I  adjure  you  by  the  Lord  that  this  epistle 
be  read  unto  all  the  holy  brethren;"  and  don't  you  hear  how 
he  is  reading  it — in  Latin  1  which,  however,  none  of  our  holy 
brethren  understand.'  '  But  here  I  have  got  it  both  in  its 
original  Greek  and  in  my  own  tongue.'  '  Have  you,  you 
heretic]  Beware,  or  we  may  burn  both  thee  and  thy  pesti- 
lent book.'  '  And  this  female  figure  on  the  wall  V  '  That  is 
one  of  our  mediators  betwixt  God  and  man.'  '  And  do  you 
not  worship  the  Saviour  at  all  V  '  0  yes ;  that  is  He  above 
the  high  altar ! '  '  The  altar !  are  you  Pagans  or  Jews  1  or 
do  you  not  know  that  Christ's  one  offering  has  perfected  His 


394         THE  ROOT  OF  THE  EVIL. 

saints  for  ever  1  But  those  priests  curtseying  and  crossing 
and  muttering  at  the  altar,  what  are  they  doing]'  'They 
are  making  the  body  of  God  ! ' 

"  Among  the  old  superstitions  there  was  one  of  some  signi- 
ficance. They  alleged  that  a  demon  sometimes  got  possession 
of  the  armour,  or  of  the  actual  body  of  some  slain  warrior, 
and  walked  the  world  in  the  stolen  exuvise.  And  of  course 
so  apparent  was  the  identity  that  even  nearest  friends  mis- 
took. The  ferryman  rowed  across  his  fancied  chieftain,  and 
the  warder  opened  the  castle  gate,  and  the  lady  of  the  hall 
welcomed  home  her  absent  lord ;  and  it  was  not  till  she  saw 
through  the  vizor  fishy  eyes,  or  the  gauntlet  dropped  off  and 
revealed  the  dragon's  green  and  scaly  paw,  that  a  hellish 
laugh  confessed  the  fiend,  and  from  a  swoon  she  woke  to  find 
at  her  side  her  husband's  gory  corpse,  or  the  cradled  infant 
dead.  And  of  this  weird  fable  we  have  been  often  reminded 
as  Ave  look  at  Popery.  Cramming  into  the  slough  of  Chris- 
tianity its  seven  sacraments  and  all  its  superstitions ;  con- 
stantly invoking  the  Trinity,  and  ostentatiously  exhibiting 
symbols  of  the  faith ;  naming  the  name  of  Christ,  and  swear- 
ing that  it  is  His  only  Church,  it  comes  with  its  lying  won- 
ders, deceiving  if  possible  the  very  elect;  and  it  is  not  till 
unsuspecting  piety  has  oj^ened  the  door  that  the  howl  of  the 
sheep-like  innocent  reveals  the  wolf :  it  is  not  till  the  soul 
that  sought  the  mild  and  merciful  Redeemer  finds  itself  in 
the  grasp  of  a  superstition  half-brutish,  half-infernal,  that  the 
terrible  truth  flashes  forth,  and  where  it  expected  to  leap 
into  the  arms  of  a  Saviour,  it  sinks  crushed  in  the  coils  of 
Antichrist. 

"  But  how  ghastly  the  substitution  efi"ected  I  How  came 
the  Romish  mockery  to  steal  and  wear  so  long  the  mask  of 
Christianity  1 

"  First  of  all,  it  found  piety,  if  not  dead,  very  faint  and 
feeble,  and  so  incapable  of  eff"ective  resistance.  There  was 
no  Popery  at  Pentecost,  and  a  perpetual  Pentecost  would 
have  rendered  Popery  a  perpetual  impossibility.  Even  before 
the  apostolic  era  ended,  the  love  and  devotion  and  heavenly- 
mindedness  of  the  Church  were  dying  down,  and  before  the 
second  century  closed  there  was  very  little  left ;  and,  as  every 


THE  ROOT  OF  THE  EVIL.  395 

man  knows  by  liimself,  when  lukewarmness  makes  him  legal, 
or  a  loose  profession  of  the  Gospel  makes  his  conscience  dis- 
contented, he  is  so  far  a  Papist,  He  begins  instinctively  to 
look  about  for  some  other  saving  name  than  that  which  God 
has  given.  You  can  easily  understand  how  the  root  of  bitter- 
ness began  to  sj)ring  up  in  a  loose  or  legal  age.  Ceasing  to 
look  to  Jesus  for  justification,  men  were  constrained  to  look 
to  something  else ;  and  the  first  thing  thought  of  was  bap- 
tismal water.  Everything  was  done  to  exaggerate  its  import- 
ance and  increase  its  value.  Oil  was  put  on  the  receiver's 
head  to  show  his  consecration  as  a  spiritual  priest,  and  an 
exorcism  was  used  in  order  to  expel  the  devil ;  and  the  notion 
began  to  prevail  that  baptismal  water  was  the  second  birth, 
and  washed  all  sin  away.  But  as  it  was  too  evident  that 
many  left  the  font,  and  took  their  old  sins,  at  least  their  old 
hearts,  with  them,  it  became  needful  to  find  some  supplemental 
salvation ;  and  as  men  were  now  looking,  not  to  the  living 
Christ  at  the  Father's  right  hand,  but  to  material  and  palpable 
substitutes,  they  fixed  on  the  other  '  sensible  sign ; '  and  to 
backsliders  or  dying  worldlings  who  wished  to  make  their 
salvation  sure,  they  said,  '  Eeceive  this  other  sacrament :  eat 
Christ's  body,  and  obtain  eternal  life.'  And  just  as  they  had 
magnified  the  initial  rite  of  Christianity  into  a  regenerating 
magic,  so,  on  the  same  principle,  they  transformed  the  memo- 
rial feast  into  a  saving  mystery.  The  alertness  of  an  en- 
lightened understanding  and  the  docility  of  a  meek  and 
believing  heart  were  no  longer  needed  so  much  as  the  exact 
performance  of  a  mechanical  process.  It  was  no  longer, 
'  This  is  life  eternal,  to  knoio  Thee,  the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  whom  Thou  hast  sent ; '  no  longer,  '  God  gave  His  Son 
that  whoso  helieveth  in  Him  should  not  perish;'  but  ^ wash 
and  be  clean,  eat  and  live.'  It  was  no  longer  salvation  by 
the  blood  and  righteousness  of  Christ,  but  salvation  by  bap- 
tismal water,  salvation  by  the  eucharistic  wafer. 

"  It  is  the  tendency  of  humanity,  depraved  and  carnal,  con- 
tinually to  substitute  the  material  object  for  the  unseen  and 
the  spiritual  change.  To  this  propensity  vital  Christianity  is 
strongly  opposed.  No  doubt  the  Gospel  preaches  to  our  eyes 
and  other  organs  in  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  the 


396     MECHANICAL  SUBSTITUTED  FOR  THE  SPIRITUAL. 

incarnation  itself  may  be  regarded  as  a  gracious  concession  to 
the  soul's  strong  craving  after  some  palpable  manifestation  of 
the  Invisible  Supreme.  But  still,  in  its  very  genius  Christi- 
anity is  moral,  not  mechanical — spiritual,  and  not  material. 
It  '  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteousness  and  peace  and 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.'  However,  the  inveterate  bias  of  the 
human  heart  is  to  make  it  meat  and  drink,  and  to  put  fasts 
and  festivals  in  the  place  of  righteousness  and  religious  re- 
joicing. This  is  human  nature,  and  this  is  Romanism.  It 
consults  man's  carnality.  It  eases  the  conscience  without 
changing  the  will.  It  cannot  put  Christ  in  the  heart,  but  it 
can  hang  a  cross  round  the  neck  or  press  a  crucifix  close  to 
the  bosom.  It  cannot  make  tongues  of  flame  leap  again  on 
the  brow  of  its  ministers,  but  it  can  set  on  the  head  of  its 
bishops  a  dichotomous  mitre.  It  cannot  wash  the  robes  of 
the  immortal  spirit  in  the  great  expiation,  but  it  can  bleach 
the  surplice  white  as  snow.  It  cannot  clothe  its  members  in 
what  is  better  than  linen  pure  and  white, — '  the  righteousness 
of  Christ,'  but  it  can  clothe  its  friars  in  brown  serge  and  grey 
flannel.  It  cannot  sprinkle  the  clean  water  of  renovating 
grace  on  the  conscience,  but  for  sixpence  a  pint  it  can  shower 
holy  water  on  men's  hands  and  their  faces.  It  cannot  tell 
much  about  Jacob's  ladder,  nor  about  that  living  Avenue  of 
access  who  says  of  Himself,  '  I  am  the  Way,'  but  it  can  tell 
how  many  steps  of  Pilate's  staircase  will  take  you  to  heaven ; 
and  it  knows  which  spot  of  the  surface — whether  Eome  or 
Jerusalem  or  Loretto — is  the  furthest  from  purgatory.  And 
though  it  dare  hardly  hope  salvation  for  heretics  like  Leigh- 
ton  and  Usher  and  Howard,  it  has  a  sure  and  certain  hope  of 
a  glorious  resurrection  for  the  drunken  debauchee  who  in  his 
stertorous  convulsions  could  hardly  swallow  the  viaticum,  but 
who,  with  monks  chanting  masses  for  his  soul,  now  sleeps  in 
the  odour  of  sanctity,  and  locked  up  from  the  devil's  reach  in 
the  fire-proof  safe  of  a  consecrated  burying-grouud." 


CHAPTEE  IX. 
1851-1854. 

In  order  more  fully  to  utilize  his  vast  and  various  stores 
of  information,  he  instituted  and  faithfully  carried  out  a 
simple  but  effective  system  of  common-place  book  and 
index.  There  is  a  series  of  books,  of  small  superficial 
extent  but  considerable  thickness,  and  firmly  bound  in 
leather,  the  size  and  shape  being  determined  with  a  regard 
to  convenience  in  carrying  them  about  in  railway  journeys 
or  strolls  by  the  sea-shore.  They  are  marked  A,  B,  C,  etc., 
and  entitled  BibHne  or  Book- essence.  Volume  A  is  carried 
about  until  it  is  filled ;  then  it  is  laid  on  the  sheK  and  B 
takes  its  place. 

Never  and  nowhere  does  he  write  an  abstract  of  any 
book  or  portion  of  a  book.  The  entries  are  mainly  of  two 
kinds — either,  first,  a  mere  reference  to  a  fact  or  argument, 
with  the  volume  and  page  of  the  book  in  which  it  is  found  ; 
or,  second,  the  fact,  or  argument,  or  illustration  copied 
verbatim  with  a  reference  to  the  author  and  the  page. 
In  determining  whether  of  these  two  methods  should  be 
followed  in  any  given  case,  he  was  guided  by  one  or  both 
of  these  two  circumstances,  viz.,  whether  the  authority 
were  permanently  within  his  reach,  and  whether  the  por- 


398  COMMON-PLACE  BOOK  AND  INDEX. 

tion  were  short  or  long.  If  he  could  lay  his  hand  on  the 
book  at  any  time,  and  especially  if  the  statement  which 
interested  him  was  of  considerable  extent,  he  contented 
himself  with  a  heading  to  indicate  the  theme,  and  a  refer- 
ence to  its  place.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  book  could 
not  be  easily  obtained,  and  especially  if  the  coveted  morsel 
was  small,  it  was  inserted  bodily,  duly  flanked  with  in- 
verted commas,  and  authenticated  by  its  author's  name. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  former  class,  take  a  few  references 
to  facts  in  Livingstone's  Zambesi: — 

"  Plants  begin  to  bud  before  rain  or  clew,        ....         48 

Man  sells  bimself  for  three  pieces  of  cloth,  buys  a  man,  woman, 

and  child,  and  has  one  j)iece  left,     .....         49 

Negro  love  of  trade,       ........         50 

Water  rises  a  foot :  that  Englishman  is  doing  something  to  the  river,  63 
Holiness,         ..........         64 

Birds  of  song  congregate  round  villages,  ....  65 

Work  preventive  of  fever,       .  .         .         .         .  .         .  72 

Female  mosquitoes  the  only  biters,  .....  96 

Take  it  leisurely,    .  .  .  .  .  .         .         .         .179 

Continuance  in  well-doing  alone  secures  continual  respect,        .       180' 

This  goes  on  through  the  whole  volume.  The  next  book 
he  happens  to  read  is  treated  in  the  same  way.  Through 
a  certain  natural  taste,  cultivated  and  strengthened  by 
long  practice,  he  fastens  on  everything  that  suits  his  pur- 
pose in  every  book  he  reads,  as  a  bee  sucks  all  the  honey 
that  any  flower  happens  to  contain,  and  then  flies  off  to 
the  next.  Thus  the  labour  of  much  reading  is  not  lost. 
The  book  goes  out  of  sight,  but  the  Bibline  remains  in  the 
reader's  possession. 

One  larger  book  is  employed  as  an  alphabetical  index  to 
make  these  miscellaneous  stores  easily  available.     For  each 


SPECIMEN  ENTRY — MEMORY.  399 

subject  contained  in  the  day-books  a  distinctive  title  is 
contrived :  this  is  inserted  in  the  index  under  its  appro- 
priate letter,  and  all  the  entries  connected  with  that 
subject,  scattered  over  the  whole  series  of  volumes,  grouped 
together  there. 

For  example,  you  open  the  Index  at  the  middle  of  letter 
M,  and  you  find  the  heading  memory  in  large  characters 
at  the  top  of  the  broad  margin,  and  the  page  filled  with 
various  references,  thus — 

"Memory. — GaLiffi  in  Colchester's  (Abbot)  Diary,  Genoa,  1819.  Pick 
on  means  of  improving,  (Triibner).  De  Quincey  in  Trencb's  illus- 
trations, 143.  Curious  creation  of.  Ad.  Clark's  Life,  9.  Morbid, 
Winslow,  Life  of  Lawson,  127,  235.  Failure,  Brydone  in  Life  of 
Scott,  10,  1 10.  Scott's  own,  10,  210.  Dug.  Stewart,  Jeffrey,  D  51. 
Clarifying  power  of,  D  50.  Tricks  of,  A  10.  A.  Hallam'swant 
of,  N.  Brit.  Review,  14,  495.  Of  languages  ;  the  man  who  knew  the 
greatest  number  of  dialects,  Elder  Adelung,  Athenm.  Jan.  17, /63, 
p.  94.  Bad,  Le  Sage,  Disraeli's  Lit.  Char.  120.  Bentley's,  not  good, 
Hallam,  4,  12.  Optima  Memorise  ars  est  penitus  intelligere, 
Erasm.  op.  i.  512.  Augustini  Confess,  lib.  10.  Feats  of,  Jordan's 
Vie  de  M.  La  Croze,  p.  225.  Amst.  1741.  Muretus  Varise  Lec- 
tiones,  lib.  ill.  cap.  i.  31.  1586.  Joseph  Scaliger  and  others,  Sir 
W.  Hamilton's  Lectures,  ii.  208,  224,  222.  Life  of  Mezzofanti 
(Dr.  Rossi),  32.     Aided  by  Method,  Lettsom's  Life,  17,  148,  ii.  53. 

Ode  to,  Tennyson,  26. 

Rogers,  Pleasures  of. 

Addison  Alexander's  Scrap  Book. 

Softening  and  exaggerating  power  of,  Wordsworth,  v.  82. 
Rapidity  of  Recollection,  Leif child's  Tracts,  215.  Scratching 
back  of  head  in  order  to  remember,  Jackson,  3,  378." 

Turning,  as  directed,  to  vol.  D,  p.  51,  we  find — 

"  Failure  of  Memory. — Lord  Jeffrey  told  Professor  Miller  that  his  plan 
was  to  prepare  his  speeches,  not  writing  them,  for  his  penmanship 
made  writing  irksome  to  him,  and  he  could  not  dictate.  But  he  com- 
posed and  arranged  in  so  many  mental  compartments  what  he  meant 


400  THE  METHOD  DEVELOPED  GRADUALLY. 

to  say.  In  preparing  for  his  first  speech  in  Parliament,  he  was  more 
than  usually  careful,  and  had  grouped  his  materials  in  four  divisions. 
' '  I  got  on  quite  well  with  the  first  and  the  second  ;  but  when  I  had 
done  with  them,  behold  no  third  was  forthcoming.  Of  course  I  had 
to  scramble  into  number  four  as  well  as  I  could,  but  by  this  time  the 
speech  was  ruined.  Of  course,  the  moment  I  sat  down  the  truant 
came  slipping  back  into  my  mind,  and  was  entirely  at  my  service." 

At  D  50  the  insertion  is — 

"  Clarifymg  power  of  memory — 
'  Was  Ich  sah  und  horte 

Selten  fuhlt  Ich,  was  es  war, 
Solang  der  Eindruck  die  Besinnung  storte  ; 

In  der  Erinn'rung  ward  nur's  Klar.' — Kuckert." 

The  plan  was  not  complete  at  the  first  ;  it  was  matured 
by  degrees.  In  the  first  volume,  "  begun,  Brighton,  5  th 
September,  1845;  finished  at  28  Stafford  Street,  Edinburgh, 
30th  May  1850,"  the  material  is  inserted  under  distinct 
heads  and  at  different  places.  The  four  divisions  are — 
Extracts  from  borrowed  books  ;  References  to  books  in  my 
own  possession ;  Projects ;  and  Sources  of  illustration. 

In  the  second  volume  the  scheme  is  one  degree  more 
fully  developed.  There  is  no  division  of  the  subjects  now, 
according  to  their  kind ;  they  follow  each  'other  as  they 
arise  in  the  order  of  time,  with  absolutely  no  regard  to 
their  nature.  To  make  the  miscellaneous  mass  available, 
a  few  pages  at  the  end  are  reserved  for  a  brief  and  im- 
perfect index.  As  the  materials  accumulated,  the  neces- 
sity for  a  more  perfect  organization  became  apparent.  In 
the  third  volume,  accordingly,  "Book-Essence,  Bundle  III," 
introduced  by  a  motto  from  Sir  J.  Davies — 

"  Skill  comes  so  slow,  and  life  so  fast  doth  fly ; 
We  learn  so  little,  and  forget  so  much  " — 

there  is  neither  a  classification  of  subjects  nor  a  final  index. 


CARVING  OUT  WOEK.  401 

The  index  for  these  volumes  and  all  their  successors  is  be- 
gam  on  a  larger  scale,  and  transferred  to  a  separate  book. 
Henceforth  the  Day-book,  and  the  Ledger  that  makes  it 
available,  proceed  imri  passu  with  the  utmost  exactness 
and  regularity  to  the  close.  Nor  did  this  labour  cease 
until  the  powers  of  nature  finally  gave  way.  The  sixth 
and  last  volume,  begun  in  August  1866,  deals  with  books 
that  were  published  that  year,  and  stops  abruptly  in  the 
middle. 

In  the  first  volume,  where  the  subjects  are  to  some 
extent  classified,  a  small  but  very  interesting  group  occurs, 
under  the  head  of  "Projects  :" — 

"  A  book  of  parables. 

"  The  manse  and  the  minister  of  the  old  Scottish  time. 

"The  knight  vaulting  over  the  sea-cliff. 

"  The  bundle  of  myrrh,  or  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

*'  The  manifesto  of  Messiah  the  Prince, — Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

"  The  Mount  of  Olives, — some  thoughts  on  prayer. 

"  A  little  book  to  induce  people  to  read  the  Bible  with  interest 
and  expectation. 

"  A  short  system  of  personal  theology  in  little  volumes — 1.  Evi- 
dences ;  2.  The  Gospel;  3.  Essential  Christianity,  as  opposed  to  Church 
systems." 

The  list  extends  much  further.  Let  these  suf&ce  as 
specimens.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with  his  works 
will  observe  that  several  of  these  conceptions  were  happily 
reahzed ;  the  greater  number,  however,  remain  as  con- 
ceptions and  aims  only.  He  had  always  a  multitude  of 
objects  lying  in  perspective  before  his  view  drawing  him 
forward.  Although  he  had  survived  in  possession  of  all 
his  faculties  to  fourscore,  he  would  still  have  been  only  in 
the  middle  of  liis  work.     He  was  never  done.     Before  one 

2  c 


402  THE  LATEST  SELECTIONS  OF  BIBLINE. 

design  was  executed,  two  were  projected.  The  longer 
lie  lived,  therefore,  the  more  he  left  undone  when  he  was 
called  away. 

The  fifth  volume  hears  that  it  was  hegun  at  48  Euston 
Square,  in  October  1862,  and  finished  in  the  British 
Museum,  in  July  1866.  Turning  to  the  end,  curious  to 
learn  what  he  may  have  inserted  in  liis  Day-hook  while 
he  sat  at  the  table  in  that  great  repository  of  knwoledge, 
with  many  seekers,  each  following  his  own  bent,  sitting 
silent  near  him,  we  find  these  miscellaneous  jottings,  all 
bearing  on  his  life-work  : — 

"  Obsolete  controversies,  like  Martello  towers  a  huudred  miles 
inland — fi-igates  rotten  on  tlie  stocks. 

"Hasten  the  time  when  every  heart  shall  be  an  altar,  and  every 
man  a  living  temple, — when  every  sinner  shall  have  found  a  Saviour, 
and,  in  a  world  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness,  that  Saviour  shall 
have  found  His  recompense. 

"  Mind  and  its  mysteries.  Would  be  very  nice  if  we  could  put  a 
mind  under  a  bell-glass  as  we  do  a  bee-hive,  and  watch  the  coming 
and  going  of  fancies,  and  the  laying  up  of  thoughts, — sweet  fancies 
gathered  from  flowers  of  fact  in  memory's  cells. 

"  Impatience  of  the  profound.  Wish  a  sea,  transparent  to  the 
bottom. 

"  Outside  observers  or  surface  people.  '  A  primrose  by  a  river's 
brim'  does  not  tell  a  tale  of  a  thousand  springs. 

"  Sun  has  been  forming  heat  and  awaking  motion. 

"  A  mind  many-flavoured  (pine-apple). 

"  Send  forth  Thy  light  this  day  to  guide  us.  May  good  be  done, 
may  truth  be  spoken,  our  neighbours  benefited,  God  glorified." 

The  last  entry  of  the  last  volume,  written  not  long 
before  his  final  illness,  is  a  short  poem  by  W.  Alexander. 

"J.  S. 

"  Oh,  Counsellor  !  four  thousand  years 
One  question  tremulous  with  tears, 
One  awful  question  vexed  our  fears. 


USE  OF  HIS  LITERAEY  HOARDS.  403 

They  asked  the  vault,  but  no  one  spoke. 
They  asked  the  depth,  no  answer  woke. 
They  asked  their  heart — that  only  broke. 

They  looked,  and  sometimes  on  the  height 

Far  off  they  saw  a  haze  of  white, 

That  was  a  storm,  but  looked  like  light. 

The  secret  of  the  years  is  read, 
The  enigma  of  the  quick  and  dead 
Bj'^  the  child-voice  interpreted. 

Oh,  everlasting  Father,  God  ! 

Sun  after  sun  went  down,  and  trod 

Eace  after  race  the  earth's  green  sod, 

TiU  generations  seemed  to  be 

But  dead  waves  of  an  endless  sea — 

But  dead  leaves  from  a  deathless  tree. 

But  Thou  hast  come,  and  now  we  know 
Each  wave  hath  an  eternal  flow, 
Each  leaf  a  lifetime  after  snow." 

In  this  manner  an  immense  and  varied  store  of  mate- 
rials lias  been  accumulated,  classified,  and  labelled,  so  as 
to  be  easily  found  wlien  wanted.  I  understand  lie  was 
in  the  habit  of  frequently  referring  to  these  reposi- 
tories for  materials  during  the  progress  of  his  com- 
positions. The  volumes  of  Bibline  were  always  kept 
at  hand  for  reference  while  he  was  at  work.  But 
even  though  he  had  less  directly  or  less  frequently  re- 
ferred to  these  repositories,  this  would  not  prove  that 
his  labour  was  lost  in  compiling  them.  It  would  rather 
prove  that  he  had  reaped  the  richest  fruit  from  his 
labour.  The  process  of  recording  and  arranging  every- 
thing that  seemed  instructive,  either  in  his  reading  or 
his  observation,  tended  to  give  him  fuller  and  more 
permanent  possession  of  the  facts  and  thoughts.     Thus, 


404  DODDRIDGE  AND  WATTS. 

when  the  same  conceptions  were  afterwards  needed,  they 
flowed  from  liis  mind  all  the  more  readily  that  they  had 
been  written  in  the  book,  and  flowed  in  combination  with 
other  facts  and  thoughts  obtained  from  other  sources 
— the  whole  tinged  by  his  own  peculiar  genius,  and 
emerging  to  all  intents  the  new  creations  of  his  own  mind. 
No  man  made  more  use  of  what  others  had  written,  and 
yet  no  writer  of  liis  day  was  more  thoroughly  independent 
and  original.  So  intense,  indeed,  was  the  idiosyncracy 
of  his  thought  and  style,  that  what  he  wrote  anonymously 
was  recognised  as  well  as  what  he  wrote  over  his  own 
name.  He  did  not  possess  the  faculty  either  of  adopting 
other  people's  methods,  or  of  concealing  his  own. 

««42  GowER  Street,  Jan.  8,  1851. 

"My  deae  William, —  .  .  .  Last  week  I  sent  your 
friend  Fraser  an  article  for  the  North  British  on  Dod- 
dridge. It  will  fill  two  sheets  of  that  respectable  periodi- 
cal, and  took  three  days  of  my  time,  and  was  a  tax  on  my 
weary  brains." 

This  paper  was  greatly  appreciated.  At  a  subsequent 
date,  the  editor,  Professor  Fraser,  writes,  "  Isaac  Watts  is 
still  on  my  list  of  promises  ;  will  you  enable  me  without 
delay  to  transfer  it  to  the  list  of  performances  ?  Wlien 
I  remember  the  happiness  so  many  readers  derived  from 
Doddridge,  I  long  to  see  the  North  British  the  instrument 
of  communicating  not  less  happiness  in  connexion  with 
the  name  of  Watts." 


THE  PLACE  OF  HIS  "FATHERS   SEPULCHRES."      405 

TO  MR.  JAMES  WATSON. 
"  Stonehouse,  by  Hamilton,  Feb.  21,  185L 

"  My  dear  Friend, — It  occurs  to  me  that  the  best  plan 
will  be  to  print  our  Bibliographical  preface  last,  and  keep 
for  it  all  our  phizzical  and  other  illustrations.  In  the 
meanwhile,  I  send  matter  enough  to  set  the  printer  agoing ; 
to-morrow  I  may  send  the  third  lecture  {Royal  Preacher). 
No  printing  better  answers  my  idea  than  just  such  a  page 
of  type  as  these  '  Young  Men's  Lectures,'  and,  as  you  say, 
quite  severe,  at  least  quite  simple. 

"  I  have  seldom  been  so  much  touched  by  the  death  of 
an  unknown  friend  as  my  kind  friend  Mr.  Westley.  I 
was  looking  forward  to  visit  his  premises  as  soon  as  any 
friend  was  with  us  on  whom  such  a  sight  would  be  well 
bestowed ;  and  the  cordial  greeting  and  some  occasional 
intercourse  were  among  the  joys  for  which  I  hoped  this 
summer.  And  I  feel  it  not  a  little  affecting  that  I  and 
mine  should  have  been  among  the  last  objects  of  his  far- 
reaching  kindness.  Nor  do  I  forget,  my  dear  ]\Ir.  Watson, 
that  all  this  gratification,  actual  and  prospective,  was  just 
one  particular  under  the  general  head  of  a  most  extensive 
and  fruitful  friendship." 

"Storehouse,  Feb.  21,  1851. 

"My  dear  Annie, — To-day  I  went  and  stood  in  the 
sunshine  at  the  grave  of  Christina,  and  looked  down  on 
that  emblem  of  life,  the  Avon, '  bright  and  loud,  and  speed- 
ing to  the  sea.'  And  when  I  read  on  my  grandfather's 
tombstone,  'Born  at  Milnholm,  Jan.  12,  1738;  died  at 
Longridge,  Jan.  8,  1822  ;'  I  wondered  if  a  fifth  generation 
would  ever  stand  at  the  2:rave  of  another  James  Hamilton 


406        THE  SCHOOL  AT  STONEHOUSE. 

in  the  year  1927,  and  think — How  curious  !  if  my  grand- 
father had  been  still  ahve,  he  would  have  been  113  years 
old!  Perhaps  before  that  time  death  himself  shall  die. 
Last  night  Uncle  John,  James  Walker,  and  three  of  the 
Bogside  cousins  took  tea  with  us ;  so  that  I  have  seen 
them  without  the  fatigue  of  a  pilgrimage  tlirough  these 
impenetrable  roads.  Uncle  Thomas's  school  is  a  splendid 
place.  They  have  got  a  very  purpose-like  teacher,  and  he 
has  already  more  pupils  than  he  can  easily  manage." 

A  noble  school  in  the  village  of  Stonehouse,  the  con- 
tribution of  Mr.  Thomas  Hamilton,  of  London,  to  the 
education  of  his  native  parish. 

"Storehouse,  Feb.  21,  1851. 
"  My  dear  Andrew, — Dr.  Candhsh  has  gone  to  London 
to  give  one  of  the  Exeter  Hall  Lectures  to  Young  Men 
('  Inspiration'  is  his  subject),  and  in  fulfilment  of  an  old 
promise  he  takes  Eegent  Square  for  two  Sabbaths  and  I 
take  Free  St.  George's.  This  has  given  me  three  pleasant 
days  at  Stonehouse.  Mamma  I  find  quite  as  well  as  I 
could  have  hoped.  Her  faculty  of  locomotion  is  not  great, 
and  her  spirits  are  somewhat  abated,  but  otherwise  she  is 
much  as  she  used  to  be.  For  Uncle  Thomas's  school  they 
have  got  Mr.  Arthur,  a  purposehke  and  popular  teacher. 
In  the  day-school  there  are  about  100  scholars,  and  as 
many  more  at  night ;  and  as  manners  as  well  as  morals 
will  be  added  to  the  usual  curriculum,  it  promises  to  be  a 
great  boon  to  the  neighbourhood.  Very  touching  it  was 
to  look  down  on  life's  emblem  far  below,  the  bright-flash- 
ing and  noisy  Avon,  hasting  to  the  sea,  and  then  to  mark 


HUMBOLDT — LORD  COCKBURN.  40 7 

tlie  gable  of  the  parisli  church,  old  and  ruinous,  like  a 
paralytic  preacher  trying  to  speak  of  the  world  to  come, 
but  speaking  more  distinctly  of  human  frailty.   .    .   . 

"  I  do  not  wonder  at  your  elation  in  making  Humboldt's 
acquaintance.  But  as  you  are  not  a  naturalist,  it  would 
have  been  better  bestowed  on  me.  I  could  have  talked 
(at  least  listened)  about  intertropical  vegetation  and  cor- 
puscular life  at  the  equator,  and  you  would  be  more  at 
home  with  Baron  Grimm  and  his  MdJirchen  (rightly 
spelled  ?)  It  is  a  grand  thing  to  have  seen  the  old  Baron. 
You  should  write  down  the  i^psissima  verba  of  his  con- 
versation." 

TO  HIS  WIFE. 

"  4  S.  Charlotte  Stkeet,  Edinburgh, 
Feb.  22,  1851. 

"  One  of  my  visits  was  to  Lord  Cockburn,  Mrs.  Stewart's 
father.  He  met  me  on  the  stair  and  said,  '  Are  you 
James  Hamilton  ?  The  footman  said  something  about  a 
doctor.  Here,  my  dear,  let  me  introduce  you  to  Cardinal 
Wiseman ! ' 

"  Well,  my  loved  one,  by  the  time  you  get  this,  half  of 
the  time  will  be  past.  We  shall  have  a  great  deal  to  say 
when  we  meet.  ]\Iore  love  we  cannot  feel  when  together 
than  when  apart.  Very  sweet  has  been  that  fountain  of 
joy  in  the  desert  which  yourself  and  your  affection  have 
opened  for  me,  my  Annie.  IMay  we  drink  together  at  the 
river  of  pleasure  on  high,  and  by  growing  holiness  and 
love  to  our  dear  Eedeemer,  may  we  be  growing  in  meet- 
ness  for  that  crowning  joy." 


408  THE  DEATH  OF  SIR  JOHN  PIRIE. 

"  4  S.  Charlotte  Street,  Edinburgh, 
3Iarch  1,  1S51. 

"  My  deae  Lady  Pikie, — The  tidings  have  arrived  for 
which  your  friends  were  perhaps  better  prepared  than 
yourself,  whose  affection  up  to  the  latest  would  be  hoping 
against  hope.  When  on  yesterday  fortnight  I  left  your 
house  with  my  present  journey  in  prospect,  it  was  with 
very  faint  expectation  of  ever  seeing  Sir  John  in  the  body 
until  the  consummation  of  all  things.  And  now  that 
these  long  weeks  of  exhaustion  and  dying  strife  are  over, 
amidst  all  the  grief  for  the  public  and  private  loss,  it 
becomes  me  to  give  thanks  to  Him  who  hath  abolished 
death,  and  through  whose  great  sacrifice  we  fervently 
trust  that  our  departed  friend  has  exchanged  a  bed  of 
suffering  for  the  society  of  spirits  made  perfect.  For  Sir 
John  I  always  felt  the  deepest  respect  and  affection,  and 
I  had  good  reason.  Not  only  was  he  a  citizen  of  the 
highest  standing,  but  all  his  influence  was  exerted  for 
patriotic  and  Christian  ends.  And  personally  I  was  much 
beholden  to  him.  Knowing  how  beset  he  Avas  with  apph- 
cations  of  all  sorts,  I  endeavoured  to  tax  his  kindness  as 
little  as  I  could ;  but  I  never  applied  to  him  on  behalf  of 
any  one  but  his  good  offices  were  instantly  exerted  with  a 
cheerfulness  and  heartiness  which  made  me  doubly  his 
debtor.  From  what  I  have  been  cognisant  of  in  this  way, 
I  am  sure  that  no  one  can  reckon  the  number  of  young 
men  who  owe  their  advancement  in  life  to  his  generous 
friendliness.  And  you  also  know  how  impossible  it  is  to 
sum  up  the  amount  of  his  charities.  ISTor  can  I  ever  for- 
get the  uniform  kindness  and  courtesy  of  these  nine  years 


"forget  not  all  his  benefits."     409 

that  I  have  been  favoured  with  his  friendship.  And  now 
that  all  his  worth  and  integrity  and  public  s^^irit  have 
passed  away  from  this  world,  in  common  with  numbers 
more,  I  shall  never  cease  to  cherish  his  memory.  What 
you  have  lost,  you  yourself  fully  know,  or  rather,  I  should 
say.  He  knows  who  alone  can  fill  the  void.  You  will, 
I  am  fully  assured,  find  Him  a  present  help  and  all-suffi- 
cient Comforter.  And  to  His  grace  commending  you, 
I  remain,  dear  Lady  Pirie,  affectionately  and  gratefully 
yours,  James  Hamilton." 

"42  GowER  Street, 
Sabbath  Evening,  March  9,  185 L 

"  No  lot  is  more  favoured  than  mine.  A  slight  sore 
throat,  disabling  me  for  preaching  this  evening  (the  first 
time  this  winter)  gives  me  time  to  think  of  my  mercies. 

"  My  dear  wife  and  our  two  little  children,  our  com- 
modious house  and  a  large  library,  my  mother  and  brothers 
still  spared,  our  nearness  to  St.  John's  Wood,  Uncle 
Thomas  and  many  friends,  freedom  from  debt,  ability  to 
preach  every  Sabbath  for  a  year,  the  church  full,  the 
members  more  numerous  than  ever,  are  among  the  out- 
ward mercies. 

"  Then  of  such  as  are  spiritual.  To  me  God  says,  '  This 
is  my  beloved  Son  with  whom  I  am  well  pleased :  hear 
him ;'  and  I  think  I  am  well  pleased  with  the  Son  of 
God.  I  think  there  is  no  voice  I  like  so  well  to  hear,  nor 
any  name  which  I  would  so  desire  to  spread.  To  me 
Jesus  says  '  Come  unto  me,'  and  I  hope  that  I  have  gone. 
In  my  own  languid  way  I  trust  that  I  am  often  going  to 
Him.    To  those  that  believe  He  is  precious,  and  surely  He 


410  SERMON  IN  ST.  GEORGES,  EDINBURGH. 

is  precious  to  me.  I  speak  of  Him  little,  and  I  seldom 
feel  those  rapturous  emotions  towards  Him  with  which 
the  bosoms  of  better  disciples  burn ;  but  surely  He  is  in 
a  true  sense  my  Alpha  and  Omega.  Without  Him  my 
life  would  have  neither  meaning  nor  motive.  I  love  lite- 
rature and  the  natural  sciences,  and  I  love  our  Free 
Church ;  but  I  would  have  no  heart  to  extend  that  Church 
if  I  did  not  think  that  it  is  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  I 
would  have  no  true  zest  in  books  and  study  if  I  could  not 
lay  their  products  at  the  Saviour's  feet.  Though  in  a  very 
faint  and  inferior  sense,  may  I  not  hope  that '  for  me  to 
live  is  Christ ;'  and  if  I  am  right  in  the  premiss,  if  Christ 
is  mine,  then  all  things  are  mine. 

"  On  Tliursday  se'nnight  I  preached  a  sermon  in  Free 
St.  George's  on  behaK  of  'the  Shelter.'  When  it  was 
over,  in  the  vestry  Dr.  Smyttan  said,  '  Let  me  introduce 
you  to  a  namesake — another  James  Hamilton.'  So  I 
shook  hands  with  Mr.  Hamilton  of  Ninevar,  who  was 
counting  the  collection,  and  marked  his  fresh  hale  aspect, 
so  promising  of  years  to  come.  But  in  a  few  minutes 
after  he  was  carried  home  apoplectic,  and  never  more  was 
conscious,  till  he  died  on  Sabbath  morning.  He  was  a 
pious  man,  and  it  is  pleasant  to  think  that  his  last  em- 
ployment was  a  labour  of  love.  To  me  it  was  very 
solemn, — the  identity  of  the  name  and  the  fact  that  a 
sermon  of  mine  was  the  last  he  ever  should  hear.  It  is 
remarkable  too  that  I  should  never  have  spoken  to  him 
till  that  hour,  and  very  likely  I  was  the  last  person  with 
whom  he  shook  hands." 


LADY  VERNE Y.  411 

A  note  from  a  Christian  foreigner  sojourning  in  London 
serves  to  throw  a  cross-light  on  the  ii3eful  life  of  the 
minister  and  author  : — 

FKOM  C.  SCHONBEEG. 
"9  Barnard's  Inn,  Holborn,  March  25,  1851. 

"  Eeverend  Sir, — Let  me  beg  of  you  kindly  to  accept  a 
copy  of  our  Moravian  Hymns,  and  to  receive  at  the  same 
time  the  renewal  of  my  best  thanks  for  the  precious  gift 
of  your  writings,  which  I  shall  read  over  and  over  again, 
prizing  them  very  much.  The  prayer  and  conversation  I 
enjoyed  in  your  house  was  like  a  brook  by  the  way  to  the 
refreshment  of  my  soul.  This  winter,  which  I  have  spent 
in  London,  has  proved  to  me  a  spring-time  productive  of 
many  germs  and  blossoms,  and  deeply  implanted  in  my 
memory  is  your  acquaintance  and  your  writings,  which  by 
a  gracious  Providence  I  have  been  permitted  to  meet  with. 
May  our  Lord,  through  His  love  and  life-giving  power, 
grant  to  you  long  to  continue  an  instrument  of  great  and 
rare  benefits  to  your  fellow-pilgrims. — I  remain,  reverend 
sir,  faithfully  yours,  C.  Schonberg." 

FROM  LADY  VERNEY. 
"4  Hesketh  Crescent,  Torquay,  June  12,  1851. 

"  Dear  Dr.  Hamilton, —  ...  As  I  have  been  prowl- 
ing among  the  rock  pools,  investigating  their  wonders,  and 
making  acquaintance  with  their  inhabitants,  I  have  had 
continually  in  mind  your  comparison  of  them  to  the 
various  religious  denominations  whom  the  rising  tide  of 
love  and  truth  is  sooner  or  later  to  merge  into  one.     I  am 


412  WORDS  FOR  THE  WEARY. 

delighted  to  hear  that  so  distinguished  a  fish  as  Merle 
d'Aubign^  found  his  way  into  the  little  episcopal  pool  in 
Woburn  Cliapel.  I  hope  he  may  have  stirred  tlie  water 
there  to  much  purpose. — Believe  me,  yours  most  truly  and 
obliged,  Eliza  Veeney." 


FROM  MR. 


"June  IS,  1851. 
"...  I  am  glad  that  you  retain,  dear  Sir,  amidst  your 
arduous  stated  exertions,  all  tliat  elasticity  of  mind  which 
enables  you  to  produce  'things  new  and  old,'  in  such 
large  variety  and  with  such  affluence  of  manifold  illustra- 
tion. Glad,  because  this  is  always  so  conducive  to  attrac- 
tion by  impression,  and  more,  I  should  tliink,  in  our  own 
than  in  any  former  age.  I  feel  more  than  ever  the  value 
of  intellectual  vigour  and  imaginative  resources  in  recom- 
mending great  truths,  as  tlie  close  approach,  not  to  say 
arrival,  of  old  age  makes  me  acquainted  with  the  declen- 
sion of  such  powers  and  advantages.  I  have,  indeed,  been 
indulged  with  a  full  year  of  exemption  from  depression,  a 
most  unusual  period  with  me,  and  calling  for  my  deepest 
gratitude ;  but  at  present  I  have  some  symptoms  of  that 
cloud  which  has  so  often  oversliadowed  me,  and,  to  use 
your  own  words,  '  it  is  not  easy  to  muster  up  a  smile.' — I 
am,  my  dear  Sir,  yours  most  truly," 

I  confess  I  have  sometimes  been  provoked  by  hearing 
good  people  whose  range  of  ideas  was  limited,  and  whose 
sensibilities  were  not  very  tender,  criticising  severely  the 
methods  of  James  Hamilton  as  a  preacher  and  a  writer. 


I 


SIR  GEOEGE  SINCLAIR.  413 

He  was  too  poetical — lie  gave  fancies  instead  of  the  solid, 
searching  truth.  Little  did  they  know — they  were  incap- 
able of  comprehending — how  the  gospel  found  its  way  on 
the  wings  of  his  bright  imagination  into  hearts  that  needed 
its  consolations,  but  were  closed  against  the  entrance  of 
coarser  forms.  This  gentleman's  note  serves  to  sliow  that 
in  his  "  diversities  of  operation"  the  Lord  finds  a  use  for 
every  talent  he  has  bestowed  and  sanctified.  The  feet 
and  the  hands  are  very  useful  in  the  mystic  body ;  but 
let  them  beware  of  despising  the  seeing  eyes  and  the 
hearing  ear. 

FEOM  SIR  GEOEGE  SINCLAIR. 

"  Thukso  Castle,  Sth  July  1851. 
"  My  dear  Friend, — I  cannot  find  it  in  my  heart  to 
employ  a  less  familiar  designation  when  addressing  the 
son  of  a  father  for  whom  I  cherished  so  sincere  a  regard, 
and  the  biographer  of  a  sister  (Lady  Colquhoun)  to  whom 
I  was  so  tenderly  attached,  to  say  nothing  of  his  personal 
claims  on  my  affectionate  esteem,  as  a  devoted  minister 
and  an  accomplished  scholar.  Your  letter  was  read  in  the 
same  spirit  in  which  it  was  written — I  of  course  mean 
that  of  kindness  and  satisfaction.  The  painful  conflict 
which  preceded  my  solitary  disruption  ■■•  has  terminated  in 
procuring  for  me  a  security  and  spirituality  of  mind  to 
which  I  had  for  a  long  time  been  in  a  great  measure  a 
stranger.  It  is  delightful  to  find  myseK  once  more  asso- 
ciated in  the  bonds  of  holy  fellowship  with  the  men  whom 
I  most  love  and  revere,  and  whose  cause  and  Church  I 

^  He  (lid  not  abandon  the  Establislimeut  with  the  body  of  the  Free  Church 
in  1843,  but  followed  on  fuller  conviction  at  a  later  date. 


414  "  THE  ROYAL  PEEACHEE." 

believe  to  be  identified  with  the  Church  and  cause  of  Christ. 
I  am  (not  proud,  but)  humhlcd,  when  I  contrast  the  cordial 
gratulations  which  I  have  received  from  many  dear  and 
much  respected  well-wishers  with  my  own  claims  upon 
their  sympathy  and  good-will.  At  my  age,  and  in  my 
state  of  suffering  and  infirmity,  I  can  do  little  (oh,  how 
much  too  little  !)  in  furtherance  of  these  great  principles,  to 
which  we  both  attach  so  much  importance,  but  I  will  do 
what  I  can  ivhilst  I  can,  and  not  forget  that  to  each  of  us 
the  night  cometh  when  no  man  can  work.  I  am  exceed- 
ingly indebted  to  you  for  the  very  kind  and  valuable 
present  by  which  your  letter  was  accompanied,  of  wliich  I 
have  just  read  enough  to  convince  me  hoAV  much  pleasure 
and  instruction  I  shall  receive  from  a  reiterated  and  atten- 
tive perusal  of  the  whole.  I  am  astonished  at  the  pro- 
found research  and  multiform  erudition  displayed  in  the 
introduction,  as  well  as  by  the  apposite  illustrations  and 
cogent  appeals  both  to  the  heart  and  conscience  con- 
tained in  the  lectures  themselves  (on  Ecclesiastes — The 
Royal  Preacher).  .  .  .  - — Believe  me  ever  to  remain,  with 
much  esteem  and  regard,  most  faithfully  yours, 

"  Geokge  Sinclaih." 

to  mr.  arnot. 

"42  GowER  Street,  July  19,  1S51. 

"  j\Iy  dear  Friend, — Now  that  three  weeks  are  past,  I 
can  venture  to  write  to  the  reviewer  of  The  Royal  Preacher. 
Had  I  written  sooner  I  should  have  disclaimed  half  the 
praise  of  that  pleasant  eulogy ;  and  though  my  self-love 
has  not  yet  so  enlarged  its  capacity  as  to  swallow  the 


DEATH  OF  MR.  WILLIAM  HAMILTON.  415 

whole,  yet  I  have  found  out  a  use  for  it  all.  I  say  to  my- 
self, '  That  dear  kind  Arnot  knows  wdiat  I  would  like  to 
do,  and  in  his  friendliness  he  tliinks  I  have  abeady  done 
it.  He  is  very  shrewd  withal,  and  likely  he  sees  better 
than  myself  what  I  might  do,  and  he  speaks  of  it  as  un 
fait  accompli.  So  I  must  look  on  this  article  as  a  plan  or 
portrait  of  what  I  ought  to  be,  and  take  it  as  J.  H.'s  vade- 
mecum  in  search  of  himseK.'  Indeed,  I  deeply  feel  how 
short  I  come  of  what  your  partiality  would  represent ;  but 
stiU  the  quahties  which  you  ascribe  to  me  are  exactly 
those  which  I  would  like  to  have,  and  the  warmth  of 
brotherly  kindness  which  inspired  that  paper  brought  the 
tears  into  my  eyes.  J.  H." 

On  the  2d  of  August  this  year  the  minister  and  congre- 
gation of  Kegent  Square  suffered  an  irreparable  loss  in  the 
death  of  Mr.  William  Hamilton.  Through  the  gravitv  of 
his  character,  and  the  wisdom  of  his  coimsels,  and  the 
Christian  meekness  of  his  spirit,  he  had  been  a  pillar  in 
the  chui'ch  from  its  origin  ;  and  the  survivors,  accustomed 
to  lean  on  his  judgment,  felt  as  a  family  bereaved  by  his 
removal  The  minister  loved  and  revered  him  as  a  father ; 
and  the  esteem  in  which  his  judgment  was  held  may  in 
some  degree  be  measured  by  the  number  of  letters  ad- 
dressed to  him  on  all  the  graver  questions,  whether  con- 
gregational or  general,  as  they  emerged.  One  of  the 
"projects"  which  Dr.  Hamilton  long  cherished  was  to 
write  a  triple  biography — memoirs  of  William  Hamilton, 
James  Nisbet,  and  Sir  John  Pirie,  as  characteristic  speci- 
mens of  the  Christian  merchant,  differino;  much  from  each 


416  TRUE  HISTOEY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

otlier,  yet  all  conspiring  as  constituent  expressions  to  form 
an  epistle  of  Christ.  He  published  some  notices  of  Mr. 
Hamilton's  life  and  character  in  a  sermon  preached  on  the 
occasion  of  his  death,  but  the  larger  purpose  was  never 
executed. 

"  October  1851. 

"  The  kindness  of  Mr.  M'Gregor  of  the  Queen's  Hotel 
(Glasgow)  is  much  to  be  remembered.  After  faring 
sumptuously  for  two  days  and  a  night,  he  would  suffer  us 
to  pay  nothing,  and  put  it  all  to  the  credit  of  Life  in 
Earnest." 

"London,  Feb.  26,  1852. 

"  My  dear  William, —  .  .  .  My  reading  at  present  lies 
chiefly  in  the  direction  of  Church  History.  I  have  a  great 
hankering  to  write  the  true  Acta  Sanctorum, — the  story 
of  all  the  heroic  and  beautiful  deeds  which  have  been  im- 
pelled by  love  to  the  Saviour.  But  for  a  history  of  the 
political  corporations  called  Churches,  I  have  little  turn  ; 
and  from  the  bulky  compilations  all  round  me,  it  is  hard 
work  segregating  the  materials  of  a  truly  Christian  history. 
I  would  do  it  first  of  all  in  the  way  of  popular  lectures — 
say  a  dozen  each  winter ;  and  these  might  afterwards  be 
either  published  in  lecture  form  or  re-digested  in  chapters. 
The  vision  is  pleasant  for  the  moment,  and  gives  some 
vigour  to  my  reading." 

Failing  health  again  compelled  resource  to  a  German 
watering-place. 

"WlLBBAD,   WuRTEMBERO,  Jull/  26,   1852. 

"My  dear  William, — Last  week  Annie  wrote  you  a 


RECRUITING  AT  WILDBAD.  417 

letter,  but  on  reading  it  over  I  tliouglit  it  gave  such  a  sad 
representation  of  my  health  that  I  almost  prevented  her 
from  sending  it.  The  truth  is,  that  I  know  of  little  the 
matter  with  myseK ;  the  only  thing  visible  being  a  little 
heat  upon  my  hands,  which  comes  and  goes,  and  is  occa- 
sioned by  a  too  acid  tendency  of  the  stomach.  But  though 
there  is  little  visible,  no  doubt  there  is  something  latent. 
From  what  they  tell  me,  and  from  what  I  feel,  I  believe  I 
have  over-taxed  my  powers,  and  now  experience  a  tem- 
porary exhaustion.  I  am  conscious,  too,  of  a  more  irritable 
state  of  the  nervous  system,  originating  in  the  same  source. 
This  travelling  is,  I  quite  beheve,  the  best  remedy,  and  if 
you  saw  me  at  table-d'Tiote,  or  climbing  such  hills  as  we 
crossed  last  week,  you  would  think  me  a  very  enviable 
invalid.  They  have  provided  supply  for  Eegent  Square 
till  the  end  of  August,  and  by  that  time  I  fondly  hope  to 
be  able  for  my  work,  and  by  a  strict  avoidance  of  extrinsic 
engagements,  perhaps  may  do  more  justice  to  the  congre- 
gation and  myself  than  ever.  My  chest,  I  may  just  add, 
has  felt  sounder,  for  the  last  four  months,  than  I  have 
known  it  during  the  last  six  years." 

"Nov.  12,  1852. 
"  I  wish  I  could  take  to,  and  delight  in,  goodness  apart 
from  and  despite  of  everything  else.  ,  .  .  Alas  !  I  esteem 
but  do  not  enjoy  him  in  private.  I  suppose  it  is  on  some 
such  principle  as  prevents  me  liking  carrots  and  other 
esculents  which  do  not  suit  my  idiosyncracy,  but  which 
nevertheless  contain  a  great  deal  of  nutriment.  It  would 
be  a  healthier  state  to  be  less  eclectic." 

2  D 


418  "  THE  WAY  HOME." 

Early  in  March  1853  a  great  calamity  befell  the 
family  of  one  of  Dr.  Hamilton's  clearest  friends,  George 
Barbour,  Esq.  of  Bonskeid.  With  his  wife  and  children 
and  servants  he  was  approaching  Manchester,  by  Bolton, 
in  the  train  after  dark,  when  the  carriages  ran  off  the 
rails,  and  a  very  great  disaster  ensued.  Mr.  Barbour's 
two  bright  little  boys  were  killed,  with  the  nurse,  and 
himself  and  Mrs.  Barbour  much  injured.^  The  driver  of 
the  engine,  who  had  run  the  train  over  rotten  sleepers  at 
the  rate  of  sixty  miles  an  hour,  was  convicted  of  culpable 
homicide.  The  pubhc  mind  was  much  stirred  by  the 
event,  and  many  families  were  smitten  with  a  hfe-long 
grief. 

Tenderly  associated  with  Mr.  Barbour  as  his  chief  coad- 
jutor in  the  conduct  of  the  China  Mission,  Dr.  Hamilton 
entered  in  spirit  into  the  sorrow  that  had  come  upon  his 
house,  but  could  not  in  the  iirst  instance  communicate 
directly  either  with  him  or  with  Mrs.  Barbour,  on  account 
of  their  suffering  from  the  accident.  In  these  circum- 
stances he  addressed  himself  to  Mr.  Barbour's  brother, 
Eobert  Barbour,  Esq.,  of  Bolesworth  Castle  : — 

TO  R.  BARBOUR,  ESQ.,  MANCHESTER. 

•'  London,  March  9,  1853. 
"  My  dear  Sir, — For  the  last  three  days  your  dear 
brother  and  his  wife  and  yourselves  have  been  more  in 
my  thoughts  than  all  other  things ;  and  although  in  such 

1  An  account  of  this  great  bereavement,  under  the  title.  The  Way  Home, 
written  by  the  sorrowing,  yet  rejoicing,  motlier  of  the  chiklren,  was  printed 
—  first  privately,  and  afterwards  published  ;  one  of  the  most  affecting  and 
instructive  narratives  of  our  day. 


SYMPATHY  WITH  THE  BEEEAVED.  419 

a  sad  calamity  no  words  can  be  any  comfort  except  God's 
own,  in  the  mere  act  of  writing  to  you  I  find  some  relief 
to  myself.  Witli  the  great  grace  God  had  given  to  them, 
there  were  none  on  whom  the  blow  could  fall  who  could 
bear  it  as  the  beloved  sufferers  will.  How  different  had 
it  been  some  godless  worldly  family,  whose  treasure  is  all 
here,  and  whose  only  home  is  an  earthly  one  !  Those 
happy  children  are  safe  from  every  peril,  and,  introduced 
by  the  Saviour  himself,  are  now  beholding  the  face  of  His 
Father.  'WTiat  accomplished  scholars,  what  lovely  cha- 
racters they  will  be  when  their  parents  see  them  again ! 
And  our  dear  blessed  friends  themselves,  though  we 
tremble  at  the  desolate  scene  which  awaits  them  on  this 
side,  and  though  we  would  be  apt  to  think  that  they  did 
not  need  so  sore  a  trial,  assuredly  for  them  there  is  some 
deep  and  peculiar  blessing  buried  in  this  dark  cloud.  And 
I  am  sure  the  dispensation  is  and  wiU  be  sanctified  to 
thousands.  Many  a  heart  has  it  softened,  and  into  many 
an  eye  has  it  brought  the  tear  of  tenderness,  even  among 
those  who  did  not  know  them.  It  has  made  them  feel, 
'  Why  am  I  exempted  V  And  it  has  helped  to  make 
them  prize  much-forgotten  mercies  more.  It  is  good  to 
weep  with  those  that  weep,  and  I  feel  assured  that  never 
were  more  prayers  offered  on  their  behalf  than  just  at 
this  time.  In  the  Presbytery  of  London,  last  Tuesday,  the 
sufferers  were  especially  prayed  for,  on  the  suggestion  of 
Mr.  Gillespie,  who  spoke  with  much  feeling,  and  who  was 
listened  to  with  emotion,  for  some  present  had  not  then 
heard  of  the  accident. — Believe  me,  my  dear  Sir,  most 
truly  yours,  James  Hamilton." 


420  "the  leght  to  the  path." 

In  the  course  of  this  summer  appeared  one  of  the  most 
attractive  and  useful  of  all  Dr.  Hamilton's  works — a  series 
of  essays  on  various  aspects  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  The 
little  book  appeared  at  first  under  the  rather  unfortunate 
title,  The  Lamp  and  tlie  Lantern ;  for  this,  in  later  editions, 
was  substituted,  The  Liglit  to  the  Path.  It  contains  many 
passages  of  surpassing  eloquence.  It  is  fitted  to  be  emi- 
nently useful,  and  it  has  in  point  of  fact  been  greatly 
honoured  as  an  instrument  of  good.  It  must  have  been  a 
singular  delight  to  the  author  to  receive  at  various  periods, 
from  eminent  persons  at  home  and  abroad,  testimonies  to 
its  efficacy  in  commending  the  Word  of  God  to  the  world, 
and  in  making  it  more  dear  to  those  who  already  had 
begun  to  draw  from  it  the  water  of  life.  Some  of  these 
testimonies  will  be  submitted  at  the  place  which  their 
dates  assign  to  them.  The  first  is  from  an  eminently 
competent  witness,  the  late  Sir  George  Sinclair,  Bart. : — 

"Thurso  Castle,  June  4,  185.3. 
"  My  dear  Friend, — I  lose  no  time  in  offering  my  best 
acknowledgments  for  your  most  acceptable  present.  Any 
work  of  yours  must  be  both  precious  and  popular, — com- 
bining, as  it  never  fails  to  do,  research  with  originality  of 
sentiment,  terseness  with  truth,  and  piety  with  poetry  of 
expression.  You  possess  tlie  happy  art  of  rendering  the 
strong  meat  of  doctrine  pleasing  and  palatable  by  the 
skilful  admixture  of  interesting  anecdote  and  felicitous 
illustration.  I  have  no  doubt  that  this  seasonable  publi- 
cation will  do  great  good  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  whilst 
it  will  at  the  same  time  add  largely  to  the  fame  of  its 
beloved  and  respected  author.     I  wish  he  were  here  to 


APPETITE  FOR  WOPvK.  421 

talk  over  many  of  tlie  important  topics  which  it  elucidates 
so  forcibly,  and  which  are  so  momentous  at  the  present 
crisis.   .   .   .  Geokge  Sinclaik." 

It  was  the  characteristic  of  his  mind  that  he  must  al- 
ways have  a  work  in  hand,  and  several  in  prospect.  This 
constant  impulse  and  eagerness  toward  work  was  perhaps 
the  most  commanding  and  distinguishing  feature  of  the 
man.  He  w^as  like  a  machine  wound  up  and  set  in  motion, 
which  could  not  stop  until  the  course  of  life  was  run. 
There  have  been  other  instances  of  a  similar  intensity  and 
continuity  of  action ;  but,  in  most  cases,  these  lives  of 
extraordinary  impetuousity  have  been  shaded  by  some 
morbid  irritability,  or  unapproachableness.  In  Hamilton's 
life,  the  two  factors,  of  congenital  talents  and  superadded 
grace,  so  balanced  each  other,  that  the  prodigious  impetus 
of  his  course  never  crushed  a  fly.  Although,  from  the 
gravity  of  the  mass,  and  the  celerity  of  the  motion,  the 
momentum  was  vast,  it  remained  so  completely  under 
control  that  little  cliildren,  so  far  from  dreading  it,  liked 
notliing  so  much  as  to  cast  themselves  in  its  way.  There 
have  been  greater  minds,  and  there  have  been  as  cheerful 
spirits,  but  not  often  has  so  much  of  the  little- child  cheer- 
fulness been  united  to  so  much  force. 

The  next  effort  was  Excelsior.  His  letter  in  reply  to  the 
suggestion  of  the  publisher,  describes  pretty  nearly  the 
plan  that  was  ultimately  adopted  : — 

"48  EusTON  Square,  June  16,  1853. 
"My  deae  Mr.  Watson, — The  subject  of  our  conversa- 
tion this  morning  has  been  a  good  deal  in  my  thoughts 


422  PLAN  OF  "EXCELSIOR." 

since  it  was  first  propounded  to  me ;  and  I  feel  its  import- 
ance rising,  and  its  attractions  increasing. 

"To  brins  into  existence  a  literature  wliicli  would 
quicken  the  intelligence  and  refine  the  taste  of  young  men, 
and  which,  with  God's  blessing,  might  strengthen  their 
moral  and  religious  principles,  and  help  to  cultivate  all 
good  affections,  is  sm-ely  as  legitimate  an  object  as  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  could  set  before  itself, 
and  it  is  one  into  which  your  liouse  could  enter  with  all 
its  heart. 

"  And  I  think  it  quite  practicable.  AVith  such  a  INIaga- 
zine  as  you  spoke  of,  completing  itself  in  a  three  years' 
cycle,  you  might  (besides  one  paper  of  practical  Christianity, 
and  some  lively  Scripture  illustration  every  month)  suj^ply 
a  series  of  articles  which  would  be  virtual  introductions  to 
the  sciences,  and  summaries  of  history,  sacred  and  civil ; 
glances  at  inventions,  manufactures,  etc.,  and  the  A  B  C  of 
the  fine  arts.  To  catch  the  shyer  fishes,  you  might  have  a 
tale  ;  and  to  keep  your  readers  well  informed  on  all  that 
is  transpiring,  your  idea  is  a  good  one,  that  each  number 
should  conclude  with  a  summary  of  monthly  memorabilia. 
"  But,  to  give  it  this  catholic  and  permanent  character, 
there  should  be  as  little  as  possible  of  local  or  association 
intelhgence.  It  would  be  better  that  the  Association 
printed  a  separate  fly-leaf  every  month,  or  a  half- sheet 
every  quarter,  for  its  own  news  and  notices,  and  stitched 
it  under  the  cover,  so  as  to  keep,  for  subjects  of  abiding 
importance,  a  book  which  you  wish  to  be  bound  up  and 
consulted  in  future, — a  sort  of  young  man's  cyclopaedia. 

"  A  good  deal  of  solid  and  usefid  writing  may  be  ^ro- 


YOUNG  MENS  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION.         423 

cured  '  on  reasonable  terms ; '  but  if  we  invite  men  like 
Isaac  Taylor,  or  Sir  D.  Brewster,  or  Archbishop  "VVliately, 
or  ladies  like  Mrs.  Stowe  and  Miss  Wetlierell  to  contribute, 
we  should  be  prepared  to  give  them  liberal  remuneration. 
And,  seeking  not  merely  immediate  sale,  but  high  and 
enduring  usefulness,  we  should  (I  submit)  aim  at  a  larger 
proportion  of  first-class  contribution  than  the  sprinkling 
allowed  in  most  magazines. 

"  Through  its  lectures  and  classes,  the  Association  has 
already  done  a  great  deal  towards  the  object  at  which  this 
periodical  would  aim ;  and  its  highest  success  would  be 
if  it  should  contribute  a  notable  impulse  to  the  culture 
— mental,  moral,  and  spiritual — of  the  rising  race  of  our 
country.  With  this  view,  it  should  be  made  so  attractive 
that  no  one  will  grudge  his  money  for  it,  and  those  who 
cannot  buy  it  will  still  be  eager  to  read  it. — Ever  yours 
affectionately,  James  Hamilton." 

"London,  July  21,  18.53. 

"  My  deak  William, — To-morrow,  by  the  days  of  the 
month,  it  will  be  twelve  years  since  I  was  inducted  to 
Eegent  Square.  Last  Sabbath,  I  introduced  ]\Ir.  Keedy 
at  John  Knox's,  and  I  am  now  the  grandfather  of  nearly 
all  the  Presbytery.  It  is  curious  that  Dr.  Gordon,  who 
introduced  me  at  Eegent  Square,  had  all  but  consented  to 
introduce  ]\Ir.  Keedy.  But  twelve  years  have  made  the 
Doctor  more  frail.  Mamma  will  have  a  lively  remem- 
brance of  that  journey  to  London.  I  wish  she  could  come 
up  and  see  our  new  house,  now  that  it  is  all  straight.  It 
is  a  delightful  residence. 

"  I  have  begun  to  learn  Dutch,  with  Count  de  Zuyler 


424  DINING  OUT. 

for  an  amateur  tutor.  It  is  difficult,  but  I  hope  to  conquer 
it.     I  allow  niyseK  only  one  lesson  a  week. 

"  I  am  half  through  the  Life  of  Haydon  the  artist.  As 
I  am  fond  of  pictures,  I  am  deeply  interested.  Its  anec- 
dotes are  amusing,  and  its  flashes  of  genius  splendid,  but 
its  self-consciousness  and  arrogance  are  hideous. 

"  Your  old  friend  Masson  dined  with  me  on  Monday. 
On  Tuesday,  I  dined  at  Tulse  Hill,  and  baptized  the  little 
son  of  Mr.  Boyd,  whom  mamma  may  possibly  remember. 
Yesterday  I  took  tea  at  Mrs.  Hunter  Blair's  with  Lady 
Emma  Campbell,  who  had  been  calling  on  uc  last  week. 
To-morrow  I  have  tw^o  young  Dutch  ministers  dining  with 
me  ;  and  on  Saturday  I  dine  at  Guildhall,  to  meet  her 
Majesty's  ]\Iinisters.  But  having  excellent  health,  and  long 
forenoons,  I  do  not  feel  this  gaiety  much  of  an  interruption. 
Besides,  I  have  in  my  head  the  scheme  of  a  new  magazine, 
to  which  I  hope  to  make  a  great  deal  of  it  subservient." 

From  this  time  forward,  he  took  a  lively  interest  in  the 
Dutch  language  and  literature.  He  made  as  much  profi- 
ciency in  his  studies  as  enabled  him  to  consult  the  theolo- 
gians and  eujoy  the  poets  of  Holland.  Among  his  many 
manuscript  books  one  is  devoted  to  that  country,  and  is 
filled  with  facts  and  thoughts  regarding  its  topography 
and  commerce  and  history  and  literature. 

"  Dining  out "  was  in  itself  regarded  rather  as  a  thief  of 
time  ;  but  now^  having  undertaken  the  charge  of  a  magazine 
devoted  to  literature  and  art,  as  well  as  morals  and  religion, 
he  Avill  find  a  use  for  everything.  Men  and  tilings  in 
general  will  go  to  constitute  grist  for  his  mill. 


LETTER  FEOM  AMERICA.  425 

FEOM  MR.  ABBOTT  LAURENCE. 

"  Boston,  September  24,  1853. 

"My  dear  Dr.  Hamilton,— Mrs.  Laurence  placed  in  my 
hands  your  very  kind  note  of  the  5th  of  July,  with  the 
little  volume  The  Lamp  and  the  Lantern,  and  a  charming, 
precious  volume  it  is.  I  asked  the  privilege  of  Mrs. 
Laurence  to  write  for  her,  and  to  offer  our  united  thanks 
for  your  kind  remembrance  of  us.  I  Avish  particularly  to 
thank  you  for  the  felicitous  manner  with  which  you  have 
introduced  the  name  of  my  good  deceased  brother.  He 
was  in  truth  a  thorough  Bible  man.  IMrs.  Laurence  in- 
forms me  that  she  has  ordered  our  agent  in  London  to  send 
a  dozen  copies  of  The  Lamp  and  the  Lantern.  My  inten- 
tion is  to  have  the  work  republished  here,  believing  it  will 
promote  the  cause  of  piety  and  true  rehgion.  We  very 
often  speak  of  you  and  Mrs.  Hamilton,  and  I  cannot  omit 
the  expression  of  our  united  wishes  that  you  Avould  pass 
your  next  vacation  in  this  country.  It  is  a  small  matter 
now  to  cross  the  Atlantic.  I  am  sure  you  will  be  repaid 
for  the  journey.    ...  A.  L." 

"Dec.  1853. 

"Last  March  we  moved  into  this  house,  48  Euston 
Square.  There  cannot  be  a  more  commodious  residence ; 
and  although  the  rent  and  taxes  will  absorb  two-fifths  of 
my  stipend,  its  airy  apartments  are  (in  my  case)  almost 
essential  to  the  prosecution  of  ministerial  work. 

"During  the  year  I  published  The  Lamp  and  the 
Lantern  and  A  Memoir  of  R.  Williams.  I  have  just  cor- 
rected a  new  edition  of  The  Royal  Preacher.  And  for  the 
next  three  years,  if  health  is  granted,  my  spare  time  will 


426  VALUE  OF  TIME. 

be  fully  occupied  in  editing  Excelsior,  a  paper  tlirougli 
wliicli  I  hope  to  give  some  good  impulses  to  the  rising 
race,  slioiild  they  be  induced  to  read  it. 

"I  have  preached  seventy- one  sermons  in  Eegent  Square, 
of  which  only  fifty  were  newly  written." 

R  Williams,  whose  Memoir  he  edited,  was  the  devoted 
medical  missionary  who  perished  in  the  disastrous  expedi- 
tion to  Patagonia. 

"LoNDOM,  Feb.  22,  1854. 

"  My  dear  William, — It  is  a  shame  that  I  should  be 
so  tardy  in  answering  your  letter.  The  blame  lies  with 
Excelsior.  I  do  not  let  him  interfere  with  my  mini- 
sterial work,  but  he  makes  a  cut-up  in  my  correspond- 
ence.   .    .   . 

"  I  have  hardly  recovered  yet  from  the  sensation  of 
time  uselessly  engulfed  in  entertaining  a  man  whose  arro- 
gance accepts  it  all  as  a  rightful  homage,  and  who  him- 
seK  has  no  idea  of  time's  preciousness.   .    .    . 

"  I  confess,  however,  that  I  would  be  a  better  host  if  I 
had  not  such  a  nervous  feeling  about  the  value  of  time. 
There  may  be  miserliness  here  as  well  as  in  regard  to 
money ;  and  of  late  I  fear  my  panic  about  the  smallness 
of  my  own  stock  is  almost  morbid." 

"48  EusTON  Square,  London, 
March  29,  1854. 

"  My  dear  William, — ]\Iy  main  object  in  taking  the 
pen  this  morning  is  to  try  and  persuade  you  all  to  a  Lon  - 
don  pilgrimage  this  season.  If  you  could  clear  out  a  few 
weeks  in  April  or  May,  so  as  to  bring  up  mamma  and  the 


HIS  brother's  family.  427 

cMldren,  tliey  could  remain  till  July  or  August,  or  later ; 
and  tliere  would  be  no  difficulty  in  finding  a  convoy  for 
them  on  their  way  homeward  if  you  yourseK  could  not 
return  for  them.  Jane  and  William  would  acquire  the 
English  accent !  and  Annie  would  learn  to  sing,— to  say 
nothing  of  the  gumption  which  the  little  cockneys  would 
imbibe  from  their  Scottish  cousins.  I  really  think  the 
change  would  do  you  all  good,  and  it  would  be  a  great 
look  forward  to  us.   .   .   . 

"  It  is  now  a  year  since  I  had  the  least  interruption 
from  illness,  so  that  I  have  got  on  even  better  than  you. 
On  writing  I  thrive,  but  week-evening  sermons  and  itiner- 
ancy have  been  my  ruin.  This  is  the  healthiest,  strong- 
est winter  I  have  ever  had. 

"Last  night  Annie  and  I  were  at  a  scientific  soiree 
at  a  neighbour's— Dr.  Gladstone's.  Graham,  Faraday, 
and  all  the  chemists  were  there,  and  the  cakes  and  ices 
were  very  good  practical  chemistry.   .   .   . 

"  I  hope  you  like  Excelsior.  To  me  it  is  a  great  source 
of  enjoyment,  but  I  would  almost  like  to  write  it  all  my- 
self, so  difficult  is  it  to  get  articles  made  to  order, — that 
is,  so  difficult  is  it  to  get  other  people  just  to  enter  into 
your  own  idea,  and  do  the  thing  in  the  way  you  wish. 
The  next  number  will  contain  some  good  papers,  one 
by  Binney,  and  another  by  Andrew's  friend,  Professor 
Latham.   ...  J-  H- 

'' pg_^Praij  do  grant  OUR  request,  dear  mamma,  and 
come  and  see  us  with  William  and  the  children.— Your 
affectionate  Anfie." 


428  APPRECIATION  OF  DR.  HAMILTON 


FROM  A  SOCIETY  OF  YOUNG  LADIES  IN  BOSTON,  U.S. 

"Rev.  Dr,  Hamilton.  Boston,  Ap-ril  IS,  1854. 

"Dear  Sir, —  We  have  tliouglit  it  might  not  be  dis- 
pleasing to  you  to  hear  again  from  the  little  circle  of 
young  ladies  in  Boston  who  first  addressed  you  about 
three  years  ago.  Our  pastor  is  about  to  sail  for  England, 
and  as  he  hopes  for  the  pleasure  of  forming  a  personal 
acquaintance  with  you,  we  venture  to  improve  this  oppor- 
tunity for  sending  you  a  letter  by  him. 

"  We  wish  to  thank  you  for  the  very  kind  letter  which 
we  received  from  you  in  reply  to  ours.  It  gave  us  all  a 
great  deal  of  pleasure,  and  has  been  read  and  re-read 
many  times.  Most  of  all,  we  thank  you  for  the  assurance 
that  we  had  a  place  in  your  prayers.  We  have  loved  to 
think  of  this ;  and  sometimes  during  months  that  fol- 
lowed the  receipt  of  your  letter,  when  our  meetings  were 
more  than  usually  delightful,  when  we  felt  'our  hearts 
burn  within  us,'  and  realized  the  presence  of  our  Saviour, 
the  remark  was  made  as  we  separated,  'Perhaps  Dr. 
Hamilton  has  been  praying  for  us  this  afternoon.'  We 
still  continue  the  practice  of  reading  some  book  of  a 
devotional  character  at  our  meetings.  We  have  read  some 
excellent  works,  but  the  wish  is  often  expressed  that  Dr. 
Hamilton  would  write  another  book  for  us  like  the  Mount 
of  Olives.  You  may  like  to  know  that  it  is  now  more 
than  five  years  since  we  commenced  our  meetings.  We 
have  continued  them  during  this  time  with  but  trifling 
interruptions.  Since  our  first  meeting  there  have  been 
many  changes  in  our  little  band.     We  have  had  both 


IX  THE  UNITED  STATES.  429 

additions  and  losses.  Some  have  left  ns  for  new  homes 
and  new  duties  on  earth,  and  one  for  a  brighter,  better 
home  in  heaven,  where  prayer  is  exchanged  for  endless 
praise.  We  know  that  coming  years  must  bring  many 
more  changes,  that  soon  we  may  all  be  scattered,  but  we 
trust  we  are  united  by  ties  which  time  and  distance  can- 
not break.  It  is  our  constant  prayer,  that  the  future  of 
each  may  be  guided  by  our  Heavenly  Father,  and  that 
we  may  be  fitted  for  an  eternal  reunion  around  the  throne 
of  God  and  the  Lamb.  For  this,  may  we  not  still  ask  an 
interest  in  your  prayers  ?  Some  of  us  are  hoping  to  see 
you  in  England,  but  may  we  not  all  hope  to  add  our  wel- 
come to  the  many  which  would  await  you  in  America  ? 
May  our  Heavenly  Father  long  preserve  your  life  and 
health,  and  as  in  the  past  so  in  all  the  future  crown  your 
labours  with  His  blessing,  and  increase  your  usefulness 
more  and  more. 

"Commending  you  and  your  family  to  His  loving- 
kindness,  we  remain,  with  the  highest  respect  and  esteem, 
— Your  young  friends, 

"  Sophie  L.  Waterbury.     Julia  E.  Marvin. 

Kate  E.  AVaterbuey.      Mary  G.  Parker. 

Susan  H.  Keep.  Abby  Bancroft. 

Martha  M.  Waldron.     Ellen  S.  S.  Clarke." 

We  are  inclined  to  set  a  very  high  value  on  this  letter. 
As  cold  water  to  a  thirsty  soul,  this  good  news  from  a  far 
country  must  have  been  singularly  refreshing  to  the  wearied 
spirit  of  the  Avorker  at  his  solitary  desk  in  the  heart  of 
London.     The  winged  words   that   he   had   sent  cut  at 


430  THE  REAL  PEACE-MAKERS. 

random  on  the  world  had  alighted  on  a  group  of  maidens, 
met  to  read  and  pray  together  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  The  Mount  of  Olives  helped  them  to  lift  their 
hearts  to  heaven.  They  opened  a  correspondence  with 
the  author ;  they  prayed  for  him,  and  he  for  them,  to  our 
Common  Father.  Here  is  a  link  that  helps  to  bind  the 
two  nations  together  in  perpetual  amity.  Tliese  bonds, 
and  a  multitude  like  them,  we  venture  to  affirm,  main- 
tain peace  between  us  and  our  great  offspring  in  the  West 
more  efficiently  than  all  the  protocols  of  the  diplomats. 
The  politicians  of  this  land  did  not  display  great  wisdom 
at  the  crisis  of  the  difficulty ;  but  the  manifold  Christian 
friendships  that  run  unseen  like  submarine  wires  between 
us  and  the  Americans,  did  more  to  prevent  war  than  the 
prejudices  and  blunders  of  political  parties  to  stir  it  up. 

The  frank  and  affectionate  testimony  given  by  Mr.  Arthur 
to  the  value  of  the  Memoir  oj  Williams  ought  not  to  be 
omitted.  It  is  the  evidence  of  a  thoroughly  competent 
witness — an  eulogium  honourable  alike  to  him  who  bestows 
and  him  wlio  receives  it : — 

"  Wesley  AN  Mission  House, 
BisHOPSGATE  Street  within,  London,  JuJy  23,  1 854. 

"  My  dear  Dr.  Hamilton, — Several  times  have  I  been 

on  the  point  of  writing  a  word  to  say  how  my  whole  heart 

thanks  you  for  the  Memoir  of  Williams,  but  the  constant 

drive  of  work  has  from  time  to  time  pushed  a  postponable 

duty  out  of  the  way.     Some  of  your  works  may  circulate 

wider,  but  I  doubt  whether  any  will  live  longer,     I  hardly 

know  whether  most  to  admire  the  abstinence  from  much 

writin-Tf,  or  the  effectiveness  of  what  you  have  wTitten. 


DEATH  OF  MK.  NISBET.  431 

I  have  had  a  good  laugh  out  of  several  Methodist  circles 
at  your  epithet,  a  '  Chui'ch  upon  wheels.'  The  book  wiU 
brace  up  many  a  young  missionary  to  hardihood  such 
as  he  would  not  else  have  reached.  .  .  .—Yours  very 
sincerely,  ^^'-^f-  Aethur." 

The  Session  of  Eegent  Sciuare,  from  the  time  of  Irving's 
early  days,  constituted  a  most  remarkable  brotherhood  in 
the  heart  of  Loudon.      As  its  ranks  were  tliinned  from 
time  to  time  they  were  again  recrmted,  so  that  throughout 
the  period  of  Dr.  Hamilton's  ministry  the  corporation 
maintained  its  vigour  unimpau-ed.      :\Iany  distinguished 
men  of  business  have  served  God  in  connexion  with  it 
during  the  current  century.     As  the  venerated  men  who 
had  been  chiefs  in  trying  times  were  successively  removed, 
the  survivors  mourned   over  the  bereavement  like   the 
members  of  a  family.     This  year  another  stroke  feU.     Mr. 
Nisbet,  the  eminent  publisher  of  Berners  Street,  was  re- 
moved in  a  good  old  age.      The  minister  preached  an 
appropriate  sermon  on  the  occasion  of  his  death.    :N'othmg 
else  could  have  satisfied  either  the  yearnings  of  his  own 
heart,  or  the  expectations  of  the  congregation.     But  a 
briefer,  freer  sketch  of  his  venerable  friend,  written  by  Dr. 
Hamilton,  in  February  1867,  a  short  time  before  his  own 
decease,  very  happily   and  truly  presents  the    leading 
features  of  Mr.  Nisbet's  character.    It  was  published  in  the 
Daily  Review  newspaper,  on  the  occasion  of  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Memoir  of  Mr.  Nisbet  by  his  son-in-law,  :Mr. 
Wallace.     A  short  extract  from  this  paper  is  subjoined.'^ 

»  "  The  distinguishing  feature  in  his  character  was  the  multiplicity  of  his  per- 


432  CHARACTER  OF  MR.  NISBET. 

The  sketch  in  its  integrity  presents  Avith  extraordinary 
precision  the  salient  points  in  the  character  both  of  the 
minister  himself,  and  the  elder  whose  memory  he  honoured. 
Of  no  man  but  Mr.  Msbet  could  the  same  thing  have  been 
written,  and  no  man  but  Dr.  Hamilton  could  have  wTitten 
them. 

Mr,  Msbet  treated  Dr.  Hamilton  as  a  son,  both  in  affec- 
tion and  faithfulness.  He  manifested  for  the  minister  an 
untiring  love,  but  he  Avas  nothing  loath  to  give  him  such 
advice  as  he  considered  needful.  So  ardently  did  Mr. 
Nisbet  love,  that  he  could  not  hold  his  peace  when  any- 
thing displeased  him.  They  understood  each  other ;  and 
if  on  the  part  of  the  senior  a  suggestion  w^as  never  with- 
held, on  the  part  of  the  junior  freedom  was  never  resented. 

sonal  services.  No  doubt  he  had  a  good  income,  and  with  a  bountiful  heart 
and  a  liberal  hand  he  gave  great  sums  away  ;  but  others  have  been  richer,  and 
their  gifts  correspondingly  greater.  But  we  have  never  known  any  one  in 
labours  of  love  so  abundant,  so  ubiquitous  and  imtiring.  Never  giving  his 
sympathy  where  lie  did  not  also  give  money  ;  he  never  gave  either  where  he 
did  not  withal  give  time  and  trouble.  An  attentive,  affectionate  hearer  of  the 
Word,  he  was  pre-eminently  a  doer  of  the  work.  With  no  distracting  tastes, 
no  passion  for  art,  no  turn  for  books,  no  hankering  after  holidays,  and  with  an 
establishment  which  he  had  taught  in  some  degree  to  take  care  of  itself,  most 
of  his  time  was  available  for  the  business  of  beneficence,  and  to  that  business 
right  joyfully  'lid  he  give  it.  Blessed  with  habitual  health,  sanguine,  inven- 
tive, aggressive,  no  one  could  complain  that  in  cutting  out  work  for  others  he 
shirked  his  own  ;  and  it  would  be  no  exaggeration  to  say  that,  during  the  last 
forty  years  of  his  life,  there  was  rarely  a  leisure  hour  which  was  not  given 
either  to  social  worship  or  the  service  of  i)hilanthropy.  In  the  morning  you 
met  him  climbing  Haverstock  Hill  to  an  Orphan  School  Committee;  at  noon, 
if  you  found  him  on  his  own  premises,  instead  of  authors  and  printers,  his 
levee  consisted  of  wanderers  from  Scotland,  and  waifs  from  all  the  world, 
worn-out  craftsmen  in  quest  of  pensions,  and  foreign  pastors  seeking  British 
aid  ;  later  in  the  day,  if  you  stepped  into  a  ward  of  Middlesex  Hospital,  or 
stumbled  into  a  cellar  of  his  congregational  district,  you  might  hear  the  tender 
tones  of  his  voice  praying  beside  the  sick  man's  bed ;  and  the  evening  would 
conclude  with  a  fatherly  visit  to  some  young  men's  society  or  a  missionary 
jubilation  in  Exeter  Hall." 


THE  GOVERNOR  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  433 

A  series  of  letters  from  Governor  Briggs  of  Massachusetts, 
and  Mr.  Amos  Laurence  of  Boston,  has  come  into  the  editor's 
hands  a  Httle  after  date ;  but  as  the  letters  are  equally  intel- 
ligible and  valuable  at  any  place,  they  are  here  submitted 
entire.  They  serve  to  show  what  estimate  was  formed  of  Dr. 
Hamilton's  works  by  Christian  men  of  highest  station  and 
highest  worth  in  the  United  States.  They  betray  a  fondness 
of  friendship  Avhicli  is  in  these  days  very  refreshing.  May  the 
kind  words  of  those  eminent  men  awaken  kind  echoes  in 
many  British  hearts  : — 

GOVERNOR  BRIGGS  TO  MR.  ABIOS  LAURENCE. 

"PiTTSFIELD,  Jull/  16,  1849. 

"  My  dear  Friend, — The  dozen  copies  of  Life  in  Earnest 
came  safely  to  hand  three  days  since.  I  thank  you  for  send- 
ing them,  and  assure  you  they  shall  be  distributed  where 
they  will,  I  hope,  do  good.  Never  did  a  book  bear  a  more 
appropriate  title.  Next  to  the  Book  of  books,  I  never  read 
one  with  more  pleasure  or  interest.  Its  author  must  have 
possessed  a  large  measure  of  the  spirit  of  the  Bible  to  have  so 
happily  and  so  forcibly  addressed  himself  to  all  classes  of  men. 
The  serious  Christian  and  the  thoughtless  worldling ;  the 
man  of  industry  and  the  man  standing  'all  the  day  idle  ;'  age 
and  youth  are  all  alike  fitly  addressed. 

"  For  the  pleasure,  and  I  hope  for  the  benefit  I  have  re- 
ceived in  reading  and  re-reading  this  precious  little  volume,  I 
sincerely  thank  the  author.  I  should  be  most  happy  to  know 
him,  and  shake  his  hand,  for  I  am  sure  his  hand  belongs  to  a 
right  heart.  Though  I  have  no  reason  to  expect  that  plea- 
sure here,  I  hope  to  meet  him  in  the  bright  and  happy  pre- 
sence of  that  Divine  Master  in  whose  name  he  has  spoken  so 
well. — Truly  your  friend,  Geo.  N.  Briggs." 

MR.  AMOS  LAURENCE  TO  DR.  HAMILTON. 

"  To  Rev.  James  Hamilton,  of  the  National  Scotch 
Church,  Regent  Square,  London. 

"Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.,  July  18,  1849. 
"  Sir, — The  few  lines  on  the  other  side  are  from  our  ex- 
cellent Governor  of  the  State,  whose  good  word  may  be  grate- 

2  E 


434  LETTER  FROM  MR.  AMOS  LAURENCE. 

ful  to  you,  coming  as  it  will  from  a  Christian  brother  across 
the  Atlantic.  If  it  should  ever  happen  you  to  visit  this 
country,  I  need  not  say  how  great  the  pleasure  would  be  to 
see  you.  I  'm  a  '  minute  man,'  living  by  the  day  and  by  the 
ounce,  not  having  sat  at  table  with  my  family  for  a  dozen 
years  or  more,  and  weigh  my  food,  which  is  the  most  simple, 
and  with  a  keen  appetite  when  I  leave  off,  have  learnt  the 
true  Epicurean  living  ;  yet  with  this  frail  body  I  am  compen- 
sated for  all  privations,  by  enjoying  such  treats  as  Life  in 
Earnest  in  a  way  that  few  are  allowed.  I  have  cleared  out 
the  Sabbath  School  depository  three  times  in  the  last  four 
weeks,  and  have  scattered  the  work  broad-cast,  and  intend  to 
do  so,  if  my  health  allows.  Among  the  persons  I  have  given 
a  copy  to  my  younger  brother,  who  is  soon  to  be  with  you  in 
England  as  minister  to  your  Court.  I  commend  him  to  your 
prayers  and  to  your  confidence,  for  he  is  a  true  man.  I  hope 
this  may  be  handed  to  you  by  my  youngest  brother,  who  will 
probably  be  in  London  after  this  reaches  him.  His  wife  is 
with  him,  and  is  a  true  daughter  of  Scotch  ancestors.  Old 
Dr.  Nesbit  was  her  grandfather,  and  her  family  feel  an  interest 
in  everything  from  the  '  old  home.'  With  great  respect  for 
your  character,  I  am,  Sir,  your  admirer, 

"  Amos  Laurence." 

Additional. 

''March  14,  1850. 

"  This  letter  reached  my  brother  Samuel  in  a  fortnight  in 
Germany.  On  his  return  to  London  he  called  at  your  house, 
but  had  laid  the  letter  away  so  carefully  that  he  could  not 
find  it,  and  never  saw  it  again  until  this  morning,  when  he 
found  it  while  arranging  papers  in  his  new  home  in  this  city. 
I  regret  his  not  finding  you  at  home,  but  it  may  only  be  an 
increased  motive  for  you  to  come  and  see  us.  I  will  promise 
you  as  hearty  and  joyous  a  welcome  as  you  would  receive 
among  your  own  people,  we  are  all  so  deeply  interested  in 
reading  your  Memoir  of  Lady  Colquhoun;  and  personally  I 
am  no  less  interested  in  reading  your  lecture  on  '  The  Literary 
Attractions  of  the  Bible,'  delivered  in  November,  and  I  have 
sent  the  copy  (which  my  good  sister,  Mrs.  Abbott  Laurence, 


AMERICAN  ESTIMATE  OF  "ROYAL  PREACHER."    435 

recently  presented  to  me)  to  the  printers,  to  be  republished 
here  in  tract  form,  to  be  scattered  over  our  country.  It  is  a 
gem  worth  more  than  any  in  your  Queen's  crown.  We  are  a 
little  troubled  here  just  now  by  the  agitation  of  the  slavery 
question,  and  the  foam  of  our  Slave  States  will  pass  off.  It 
is  our  '  poison,'  and  its  flavour  is  hard  to  get  rid  of.  Our 
excellent  Governor — Briggs — administers  the  State  govern- 
ment in  the  spirit  of  a  Christian  ruler  and  the  simplicity  of 
an  apostle.  I  have  recently  had  an  agreeable  visit  from  Rev. 
John  Thomson  of  the  Scotch  Free  Church,  now  of  St.  John's, 
New  Brunswick,  out  from  Scotland  in  1848,  where  he  was  a 
settled  minister.  I  received  an  account  of  the  '  St.  Mark's 
Free  Church,'  copied  from  the  Scottish  Guardian  of  Sept.  21, 
1849,  from  Dr.  M'Gilvray,  to  whom  I  pray  you  to  present 
me  kindly  when  you  see  him. — With  the  highest  respect,  I 
assure  you  of  my  affectionate  interest  in  you, 

"  Ajios  Laurence." 

governor  briggs  to  mr.  a.  laurence. 

"  PiTTSFiELD,  March  31,  1851. 

"  My  DEAR  Friend, — ^Your  kind  note  of  the  1 8th  inst.,  in 
a  package  of  good  things — among  which  was  one  of  the  best 
of  all  things,  Dr.  Hamilton's  lecture  before  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  in  London,  on  the  4th  of  February  last, 
entitled  '  Solomon  the  Prince  and  Solomon  the  Preacher' — 
came  duly  to  hand.  Absence  from  home,  and  various  other 
hindrances,  have  prevented  an  earlier  reply.  I  can't  teU  you 
how  much  I  have  been  charmed,  delighted,  and  instructed  by 
the  reading  of  the  rich  and  beautiful  lecture.  As  a  fellow- 
man  and  as  a  fellow-Christian  I  feel  under  great  obligations  to 
the  eloquent  author  of  this  production  for  his  efforts  to  im- 
press ujion  the  minds  of  the  young  men  of  his  generation 
correct  views  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  the  general  truths 
which  they  inculcate. 

"  His  remarkable  lecture  before  the  same  Association  last 
year,  upon  'The  Literary  Attractions  of  the  Bible,'  is  emi- 
nently calculated  to  produce  the  same  desirable  result.  Thou- 
sands of  young  men  in  this  country  have  read,  with  thrilling 


436  EEPRINTS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

interest,  that  beautiful  address.  Its  effects  upou  tliem,  and 
upon  those  who  will  feel  their  influence,  Avill  be  manifest 
after  its  worthy  and  faithful  author  shall  have  entered  upon 
his  reward  in  another  and  happier  state  of  existence.  I  am 
highly  gratified  with  the  suggestion  which  you  make  in  your 
note,  of  presenting  to  the  young  men  of  our  country  '  Solomon 
the  Prince  and  Solomon  the  Preacher.'  By  doing  so  you  will 
increase  that  obligation  which  your  countrymen  and  humanity 
are  already  under  to  you  for  your  numerous  and  continued 
acts  of  Christian  munificence.  I  should  be  most  happy  in 
any  way  to  be  instrumental  in  laying  before  our  young  men 
this  intellectual  and  moral  treasure.  How  the  destiny  of  our 
country  would  brighten  if  the  noble  and  truly  Christian  senti- 
ment uttered  by  Dr.  Hamilton  in  his  last  lecture,  that  '  the 
saint  is  greater  than  the  sage,  and  discipleship  to  Jesus  is  the 
pinnacle  of  human  dignity,'  could  be  made  to  sink  deep  into 
the  heart  of  the  young  men  of  the  United  States  ! 

"  I  hope  before  long,  but  how  soon  I  cannot  say,  to  have 
the  pleasure  of  taking  you  by  the  hand.  Above  all,  we  are 
indulging  the  hope  that  we  shall  be  made  happy  by  wel- 
coming you  to  our  home  during  the  coming  summt^r. 

"  G.  N.  B." 

MR.  A.  LAURENCE  TO  DR.  HAMILTON. 

"Boston,  ^^jrjY  5,  1851. 

"  Reverend  and  dear  Sir, — I  will  not  withhold  from  you 
the  charming  letter  of  my  friend  Briggs,  nor  will  I  attempt  to 
express  in  Avords  my  delight  on  receiving  your  letter  of  Feb- 
ruary 15,  and  its  accompaniments.  The  lecture  delivered  to 
the  young  men  on  the  4th  of  February,  although  designated 
by  you  as  a  '  fragment,'  I  sent  to  my  friend,  with  a  copy  of 
your  letter,  asking  of  him  whether  he  would  advise  its  re- 
printing, and  whether  he  would  scatter  it  with  its  predecessor  'i 
If  so  I  would  pay  the  expense.  His  answer  you  have  here  ; 
and  I  have  the  pleasure  of  saying  that  the  '  fragment '  will  be 
ready  to  circulate  by  thousands  the  present  week  ;  and  when 
you  shall  have  added  your  further  comments  upon  '  Solomon,' 
and  his  works,  our  American  Tract  Society  will  be  ready  to 


THE  AMERICAN  AMBASSADOR.  437 

publish  the  whole  by  hundreds  of  thousands,  I  trust :  thus  en- 
abling you  to  preach  through  our  whole  country.  The  Memoir 
of  Lady  Colquhoun  is  a  precious  jewel,  which  I  shall  keep 
among  my  treasures,  to  leave  to  my  descendants.  I  had  pre- 
viously purchased  a  number  of  copies  of  the  American  edition, 
and  scattered  them  among  my  friends,  so  that  there  is  great 
interest  to  see  your  copy  to  me. 

"  The  part  of  your  letter  which  touched  my  heart  most  was 
that  in  which  you  speak  of  my  brother  Abbott,  and  say  of  him, 
that '  no  foreign  minister  is  such  a  favourite  with  the  British 
public,'  for  it  brought  him  before  me  like  a  daguerreotype 
likeness  of  every  period  of  his  life  for  fifty  years  :  first  as  the 
guiding  spirit  of  the  boj'S  of  our  own  neighbourhood  in 
breaking  through  the  deep  snow  drifts  which  often  blocked  up 
the  roads  in  winter ;  then  as  my  apprentice  in  the  city,  and 
in  a  few  years  as  the  young  military  champion,  to  watch  night 
and  day,  under  arms,  on  the  Point  of  Bunkerhill  nearest  the 
ocean,  the  movements  of  a  British  fleet  lying  withing  four  or 
five  miles  off  him,  which  threatened  the  storming  of  Boston, 
but  which  happily  they  did  not  attempt;  and,  soon  after, 
embarking  in  the  very  first  ship  from  this  port  for  England, 
after  the  close  of  the  war,  to  purchase  goods,  and  in  eighty- 
four  days  after  he  sailed  from  here  I  received  his  first  ship- 
ment ;  and,  from  that  time  to  this,  our  firm  has  been  successful, 
and  has  never  been  changed,  except  by  adding  'and  Co.' 
when  other  partners  were  admitted  ;  and  he  has  been  making 
his  way  to  the  people's  respect  and  affection  from  that  time 
to  this,  and  now  fills  the  only  public  station  I  would  not  have 
protested  against  hi-s  accepting,  feeling  that  'place'  cannot 
impart  '  grace ; '  and  my  prayers  ascend  continually  for  him, 
that  he  may  do  his  work  under  the  full  impression  that  he 
must  give  account  to  Him  whose  eye  is  constantly  upon  him, 
and  whose  '  well  done '  will  be  infinitely  better  than  all  things 
are.  I  believe  he  is  awakening  an  interest  in  Europe  to  learn 
more  about  this  country ;  and  the  people  will  be  amazed  to 
see  what  opportunities  are  here  enjoyed  for  happiness  for  the 
great  masses ;  and  what  we  most  fear  is  that  ignorance  which 
will  bring  everything  down  to  its  own  level,  instead  of  that 
true  knowledge  that  shall  level  up  the  lowest  places,  which 


438  BLOOD  THICKER  THAN  WATER. 

are  inundated  with  foreign  emigrants.  Our  duty  is  plain  ;  if 
we  do  not  educate  and  elevate  this  class  of  our  people  they 
will  change  our  system  of  government  within  fifty  years. 
Virtue  and  intelligence  is  the  hasis  of  this  government,  and 
the  duty  of  all  good  men  is  to  keep  it  pure.  My  brother 
Samuel  will  probably  hand  you  this  letter,  or  if  he  does  not, 
he  will  call  on  you  soon  after  you  receive  it.  He  was  the 
youngest,  and  the  son  of  the  old  age  of  my  parents,  and  the 
'  pet '  of  the  whole  family,  and  has  more  in  him  to  love  than 
either  Abbott  or  I  have.  His  wife  is  a  granddaughter  of  Dr. 
Nesbit  of  Melrose,  who  came  to  this  country  in  1785,  to  be 
the  President  of  Dickinson  College,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  I 
believe  he  spent  his  days  there  in  labouring  to  build  it  up. 
His  granddaughter  is  dear  to  me  as  my  own  sister,  and  is  the 
mother  of  seven  as  fine  children  as  can  be  found  in  one  family 
this  side  the  Grampian  hUls.  The  two  oldest  boys  have  been 
in  France,  at  school,  the  last  year,  and  will  return  home  with 
their  father.  I  hope  you  will  see  them,  and  give  them  your 
blessing,  for  they  are  '  true  Scots '  in  their  feelings  and  capa- 
cities. And  now,  my  friend,  what  can  I  say  that  will  influence 
you  to  come  here  and  enjoy  with  me  the  beautiful  scenes  upon 
and  around  our  Mount  Zion.  I  live  fast,  for  hardly  a  day 
passes  that  I  do  not  ride.  I  am  admonished  to  stop,  for  my 
head  grows  dizzy.  Farewell. — With  highest  respect  and 
aff"ection,  I  am  most  truly  yours,  Amos  Laurence. 

"Rev.  Dr.  Hamilton, 

42  Gower  St.,  London. 

"  P.S. — Mrs.  Laurence  desires  me  to  present  to  you  and  your 
lady  her  most  respectful  regards,  with  the  assurance  that  your 
writings  are  very  precious  to  her.  She  also  is  a  grand- 
daughter of  a  clergyman  of  your  '  Kirk,'  and  enjoys,  Avith  a 
keen  relish,  its  best  writings." 


CHAPTEE  X.      , 

1855-57, 

Of  date  1st  January  1855,  occurs  a  brief  review  of  the 
preceding  year — a  very  remarkable  document : — 

"During  1854  I  have  not  lost  an  hour  from  sickness. 
I  have  preached  112  sermons,  77  of  which  were  in  Eegent 
Square,  and  53  of  which  were  new  compositions.  I  have  ' 
edited  volumes  i.  and  ii.  of  Excelsior,  writing  208  pages 
thereof.  The  correspondence  occasioned  by  this  has  been 
very  extensive.  I  have  preserved  161  letters  from  corre- 
spondents connected  with  the  first  volume,  and  239  letters 
connected  with  the  second — 400  in  all.  But  the  letters 
written  by  myself  must  have  been  more  numerous  than  the 
letters  written  to  me.  Of  letters  of  all  kinds  I  cannot  have 
written  fewer  than  2000  during  the  year.  Some  corre- 
spondences have  been  rather  laborious  :  as,  for  instance, 
those  connected  with  our  China  Mission,  and  the  arrange- 
nient  for  Mr.  Burns's  itinerancies,  and  that  occasioned  by 
our  Synod's  overtures  towards  union  with  the  United  Pres- 
byterians. Except  in  Excelsior,  I  have  printed  little.  A 
sermon  to  the  Sunday-School  Union,  a  sermon  on  the 
Thanksgiving  for  Harvest,  and  a  memorial  of  deceased 
members  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  are  all  that  I  re- 
collect. 


440  TIME  WASTED. 

"  Committees,  Presbyteries,  and  the  Synods  have  ab- 
sorbed in  the  aggregate  probably  a  month  of  time  ;  but  in 
visits  and  in  talking  to  visitors  I  have  sjDent  as  many 
hours  as,  at  the  rate  of  twelve  hours  to  the  day,  would  make 
up  two  months.  The  only  luxury  in  which  I  have 
attempted  to  indulge,  was  the  learning  of  Dutch ;  but  for 
this  I  could  only  find  a  few  hours  in  all  the  year.  I  have 
often  been  like  to  go  crazy  at  the  way  in  which  my  time 
is  torn  to  atoms ;  but  there  is  no  help  for  it.  With  a 
congregation  to  which  I  am  tenderly  attached,  and  for 
which  I  would  fain  do  my  best,  and  with  subjects  on  wdiich 
I  would  like  to  write  fully,  in  the  hope  of  eventually  pub- 
lishing,— past  forty,  and  the  days  flying  so  swiftly,  I  often 
feel  almost  maddened  at  the  unprofitable  objects  on  which 
my  hours  are  wasted.  Trudging  wearily  from  house  to 
house,  often  without  any  hope  of  usefulness,  but  merely 
to  prevent  people  from  feeling  overlooked  or  offended,  and 
sitting  four  mornings  in  every  week  to  hear  long  stories, 
or  attend  to  matters  whicli  a  merchant's  clerk  could 
manage  far  better,  do  not  seem  the  true  end  of  the  Chris- 
tian ministry.  And  when  all  these  interruptions  are  over 
— when  Friday  has  arrived,  without  being  able  to  open  a 
book  or  command  a  leisure  hour  since  Monday  morning, 
it  is  difficult  to  drop  at  once  into  the  calm  and  devotional 
frame  which  suits  with  preparation  for  the  pulpit,  or  even 
to  command  the  mental  energy.  I  write  this  at  JNIrs. 
Moore's,  where  we  usually  have  a  fortnight's  retreat  at 
Christmas.  I  shall  try  to  keep  a  diary  of  occupations  this 
year ;  but,  like  the  Highlander's  barometer,  I  fear  it  will 
have  no  effect  on  the  weather.     1854  is  to  be  recorded  as 


THE  WASTE  TURNED  TO  ACCOUNT.  441 

a  year  full  of  the  loving-kindness  of  the  Lord.  We  have 
had  slight  ailments  in  the  family,  but  no  serious  illness. 
Our  abode  at  48  Euston  Square  seems  to  have  had  a  happy 
effect  on  my  own  health  ;  I  have  gone  through  more  than 
usual  work  without  injury." 

The  subject  here  is  the  most  precious  of  all  treasures, 
"  My  time."  There  are  two  parties,  and  they  deal  with 
it  in  opposite  ways.  Himself  mounts  guard  over  it,  like  a 
miser  over  his  gold,  and  other  people  thoughtlessly  snatch 
and  squander  it,  in  spite  of  all  his  watchfulness.  It  is  most 
interesting  for  an  onlooker  to  stand  by  and  watch  the  con- 
flict. Here  and  there  he  almost  falls  into  a  cynical  vein 
as  he  laments  the  needless  waste  of  the  treasure,  in  com- 
pliance w^th  despotic  customs  ;  but  the  tone  is  immediately 
relieved  by  a  slight  dash  of  humour.  There  is  room  for 
grave  regret  that  so  much  of  a  life  that  was  fitted  for  great 
things  was  frittered  away  on  secondary  objects  :  yet  we 
are  persuaded  all  is  not  lost  that  seems  lost  here.  If  he  had 
not  been  a  minister,  or  had  ministered  in  a  small  and  ob- 
scure place,  it  is  more  than  questionable  whether  all  the 
effort  saved  on  the  one  side  w^ould  have  been  effectually 
turned  to  account  on  the  other.  Even  the  great  accele- 
ration of  mental  speed  caused  by  the  number  and  imperious 
nature  of  his  avocations  imparted  a  glow  to  his  published 
works,  which  they  might  possibly  have  lacked  if  he  had 
been  possessed  of  learned  leisure  such  as  many  dignitaries 
of  the  English  Church  enjoy.  The  bolts  might  possibly, 
in  such  a  case,  have  been  more  elongated  and  more  ex- 
quisitely polished,  but  they  might  have  been  colder,  and 


442  PUBLIC  LIFE  AND  LITERARY  POWER. 

consequently  less  fitted  to  set  on  fire  the  hearts  and  minds 
they  fell  upon. 

The  Epistles  of  Paul,  on  their  human  side,  took  their 
character  from  the  amazing  activity  of  his  life.  They  owe 
much  of  their  piercing  power,  iustrumentally,  to  the  high 
pressure  under  which  the  writer  continually  lay.  For  the 
mere  exposition  of  scientific  truth,  it  is  better  that  the 
expositor  be  a  recluse  ;  but  writings  that  have  most  moved 
mankind,  are  writings  that  have  been  thrown  out  at  small 
openings  between  the  tasks  of  active  and  overburdened 
lives. 

His  complaints  are  natural,  and,  in  the  main,  well 
founded;  and  yet,  if  in  these  matters  he  had  been  per- 
mitted to  carve  out  his  own  lot,  it  is  doubtful  whether 
the  result  would  have  been  more  valuable  to  the  Church 
or  the  world.  The  loss  of  his  time,  if  he  had  taken  it 
easy,  would  indeed  have  been  a  calamity ;  but  the  apparent 
paradox  might,  with  a  large  measure  of  truth,  be  main- 
tained, that  such  a  man's  time  cannot  be  lost.  Even 
the  indignation  cherished  against  the  robbers  served,  like 
the  charge  of  an  air-gun,  to  increase  the  impetus  of  the 
next  working  hour.  On  the  whole,  although  we  cannot 
but  lament  the  annoyances  to  which  he  was  exposed,  it  is 
probable  that  all  would  not  have  proved  solid  gain  if  he 
had  been  placed  beyond  their  reach. 

The  next  entry,  dated  on  the  following  day,  is  intended 
as  a  practical  justification  of  the  unceremonious  expres- 
sions which  he  had  aj)plied  to  the  intruders  : — 

"  2d  Jan.  1 855. — AVrote  eight  letters.  Tramped  in 
from    St.   John's  Wood  to  Harrington  Square  to  attend 


THEEE  WOETHIES.  443 

Mr.  's  Bible  meeting,  where  there  were  four  minis- 
ters expounding  to  six  ladies," 

The  memorial  of  deceased  members  of  the  Evangelical 
Alliance,  mentioned  in  the  preceding  summary,  was  a 
precious  and  much  relished  contribution  to  the  cause  of 
Christian  union.  Besides  briefer  notices  of  less  known 
brethren,  the  paper  embraces  warm-hearted  and  full- 
bodied  eulogies  in  memory  of  three  worthies  of  the  first 
rank  who  had  been  called  away  during  the  year, — Ward- 
law  of  Glasgow,  Gordon  of  Edinburgh,  and  Jay  of  Bath. 
The  sanctified  genius  of  Hamilton  was  peculiarly  fitted  to 
express  among  the  assembled  brethren  the  reverential 
love  which  all  cherished  for  the  memory  of  those  departed 
chiefs.  The  Christian  commonwealth  has  its  heroes,  and 
it  has  also  its  poets  to  proclaim  their  worth.  Dr.  Hamil- 
ton rendered  many  services  to  the  cause  of  the  Alliance, 
but  none  have  been  more  valued  and  remembered  than 
that  glowing  and  graceful  tribute  to  the  faith  and  holiness 
of  those  eminent  men. 

A  letter  from  a  minister  in  Sweden,  regarding  the  trans- 
lation of  Life  in  Earnest,  will  serve  to  link  him  with  tlie 
band  of  earnest  Christians  who  have  been  raised  up  to  do 
the  work  of  the  Lord  in  the  long  frozen  North  : — 

FEOM  H.  J.  LUNDBORG. 

"  Fehriiary  15,  1855. 

"  Dear  Friend, — The  pleasant  surprise  of  a  present  in 
books,  with  a  letter  from  you,  has  arrived  to  me  by  a 
sister  in  the  Lord,  Eroken  Therese  Eappe.  You  under- 
stand beforehand  that  it  was  very  welcome  to  my  heart. 


444  A  SWEDE — AN  AMERICAN. 

Many  thanks  I  therefore  send  you,  and  wish  that  I  may 
prove  thankful  to  you  and  other  generous  Scotch  friends 
yet  more  in  deeds  than  in  words.  The  Lord  give  in 
mercy  His  blessed  grace  thereto.  If  not  else  I  may  be 
enabled,  perhaps  I  myself  by  my  own  hand,  to  forward 
you  a  copy  of  the  translation  of  your  Life  in  Earnest.  I 
hope  soon  to  come  over  to  Scotland,  with  the  Lord's  smile, 
perhaps  next  month,  and  may  therefrom  at  leisure  also 
come  to  London.  Then  I  shall  be  glad  to  personally  meet 
with  you,  and  present  you  tlie  little  copy.  Overwhelming 
ministerial  duties  have  hitherto  hindered  me  to  do  more 
than  glance  a  little  in  the  dear  books  you  sent ;  but 
H.  Bonar's  were  beloved  old  friends,  and  Pike's  Early 
Piety  and  others  look  very  good  and  interesting  indeed. 
Some  days  ago  I  read  your  Lamp  and  the  Lantern. 
Thanks  for  it,  and  for  your  valued  friendship  in  the  Lord 
to  me,  a  very  unknown  foreigner,  but  your  affectionate 
friend  and  brother  in  Christ, 

"  H.  J.  LUNDBORG." 

"  March  22^,  1855. — Was  much  interested  this  morning 
by  the  visit  of  a  young  American,  Gideon  Draper,  from 
New  York.  He  had  been  qualifying  himself  for  a  literary 
life  when  he  read  "  The  Literary  Attractions  of  the  Bible."  ^ 
Till  then  the  Bible  was  a  book  of  which  he  knew  nothinsr, 
but  this  lecture  induced  him  to  read  it.  The  consequence 
was  that  he  was  led  to  believe  in  it  and  love  it,  and 
resolved  to  devote  his  life  to  its  study  and  illustration. 

1  One    of   the  chapters  of    The    Light  to    the  Path,   at    first    publisliecl 
separately. 


HIS  MOTHEH'S  DEATH.  445 

Accordingly  he  has  spent  the  last  eighteen  months  at 
Berlin,  where  Nitzsch  appears  to  have  been  of  the  gi-eatest 
use  to  him.  He  is  intelligent,  and  I  hope  to  see  more  of 
him. 

"  2Ionday,  Ai^ril  2. — In  March  wrote  165  letters,  and 
six  new  sermons,  besides  editing  Excelsior.  Intending  to 
commence  lectures  on  the  Hebrews, — have  given  a  course 
on  the  origin  and  history  of  sacrifices,  and  have  read  a 
good  deal  with  this  desim. 

"  Good  Friday,  April  6. — On  Saturday  morning  had  a 
letter  from  Stonehouse,  mentioning  that  on  the  Wednes- 
day evening,  during  family  worship,  our  dear  mother  had 
been  seized  wdth  a  paralytic  stroke.  She  lingered  till 
yesterday  morning,  when  she  passed  peacefully  away  to 
the  '  saints'  everlasting  rest.'  Had  she  been  spared  ten 
days  longer  she  would  have  survived  my  father  twenty 
years.  Last  December  she  completed  the  threescore  and 
ten. 

"  Never  was  there  a  life  of  such  constant,  yet  uncon- 
scious, self-sacrifice.  Her  whole  existence  was  spent  in 
taking  thought  for  the  comfort  and  welfare  of  others ;  and 
few  mothers  or  sisters  have  spent  more  days  and  nights 
in  watching  over  and  nursing  the  sick  members  of  the 
family.  Her  affections  were  wonderfully  w^arm,  and  it  was 
with  bitter  anguish  that  she  closed  the  eyes  of  my  aunt 
Elizabeth,  and  then  of  my  oldest  sister  Elizabeth,  next  my 
father,  then  dear  gentle  Mary,  then  her  last  and  like- 
minded  daughter,  and  soon  after  that  daughter's  only  child. 
But  as  soon  as  the  burst  of  sorrow  was  over,  she  w^as 
ready  for  a  new  labour  of  love  ;  and  to  the  last  the  well- 


446  HIS  mother's  character. 

spring  of  her  loving-kindness  never  dried,  and  the  sun- 
shine of  her  cheerfulness  never  shaded.  The  last  four 
years  of  her  life  were  devoted  to  my  brother  William  and 
his  two  motherless  children,  and  that  last  evening  of  health 
was  spent  in  entertaining  a  tea-party  of  the  Stonehouse 
villagers.  Very  rare  was  the  union  as  it  existed  in  her  of 
good  sense  and  deep  feeling,  of  frugality  and  generosity. 
Her  affinity  was  for  superior  minds,  but  such  was  her 
kind-heartedness  and  her  dread  of  hurting  others,  that  she 
would  sit  hour  after  hour  listening  to  the  lono-  stories  of 
very  uninteresting  people,  and  making  them  happy  by  her 
cordial  sympathy.  I  never  knew  one  with  so  little  male- 
volence. She  seemed  sometimes  to  be  provoked  at  herself 
because  she  could  not  be  angry.  Though  her  turn  was 
not  literary,  she  was  a  great  admirer  of  sublime  or  beauti- 
ful writing  ;  but  her  book  was  the  Bible." 

Although  the  present  editor  enjoyed  the  privilege  of 
knowing  Mrs.  Hamilton  for  many  years,  he  thinks  it  would 
be  out  of  place  to  express  here,  even  in  the  briefest  form, 
his  own  view  of  her  life  and  labours.  Where  her  son  has 
deliberately  and  carefully  ^vritten  her  epitaph,  he  will  not 
presume  to  intrude  further  than  to  indorse  from  an  out- 
side view-point  all  that  filial  affection  has  testified  of  her 
gentle  goodness. 

"48  EosTON  Square,  April  6,  1855. 
"  My  dear  Andrew, — When  I  wrote  to  you  on  Wednes- 
day, I  little  thought  that  my  next  letter  would  be  so  dif- 
ferent. But  most  likely  you  have  already  heard  direct 
from  Stonehouse.  It  seems  that  dear  mamma  gi-ew  worse 
on  Wednesday,  but  rallied  again  in  the  evening,  so  that 


JOURNEY  TO  LIVERPOOL.  447 

at  ten  Williani  went  to  bed.  At  one  the  nurse  called 
him.  She  complained  of  excessive  cold,  and  hot  bottles 
were  brought,  which  gave  no  relief.  She  asked  him  to 
pray,  and  then  desired  him  to  speak  to  her,  which  he  did, 
repeating  texts,  till  a  quarter  past  two,  when  she  gently 
passed  away.  With  all  its  solemnity  and  tenderness,  this 
is  no  time  for  mere  sorrow.  Never  was  there  a  more 
benignant,  self-denying,  beautiful  life ;  and  now  that  life 
has  expanded  into  immortality,  after  a  sej)aration  of  twenty 
years,  all  but  eleven  days,  she  has  rejoined  our  father,  and 
has  found  again  Elizabeth,  and  Mary,  and  Jane,  and  Jane's 
little  boy.  Her  warfare  is  accomplished,  and  the  days  of 
her  mourning  are  ended.  It  would  seem  as  if  her  death 
had  been  the  resurrection  of  all  my  childhood.  The  old 
manse,  with  her  active  figure  gliding  up  the  stair,  or  trip- 
ping along  the  grass  paths  of  the  garden,  thirty  years  ago  ; 
readings  in  the  nursery,  or  talkings  to  the  maids  at  the 
spinning  wheel  on  evenings  when  my  father  was  away 
from  home,  and  old-world  memories  that  gather  round 
that  scene,  so  sweet  and  holy,  that  one  feels  now  like  an 
'  exile  of  Eden.' " 

"  30  Catherine  Street,  Liverpool, 
April  10,  1855. 

"My  dear  Annie, — Yesterday  I  had  for  my  fellow- 
travellers  Leone  Levi,  and  Mr.  M'Clure,  of  Belfast,  the 
treasurer  of  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Foreign  Mission,—  a 
delightful  man.  The  only  drawback  was,  that  it  con- 
verted into  a  talk  what  I  intended  for  a  reading  journey. 
To  compensate  this,  however,  I  must  confess  that  Mr. 
Levi's  talk  is  more  instructive  than  some  books.     Last 


448  BEAUTIFUL  IN  DEATH. 

night  there  was  a  large  congregation  in  a  lovely  chapel. 
It  is  a  vast  amphitheatre,  without  galleries,  and  the 
seats,  all  lined  with  crimson  cloth,  rising  tier  ahove  tier 
round  the  room.  Nothing  can  be  more  comfortable  and 
cozy. 

"  Seldom  has  any  one  travelled  to  attend  a  mother's 
funeral  with  feelings  exactly  the  same  as  mine  ;  no  grief, 
no  bitterness,  nothing  but  the  thankful  feeling,  '  He  hath 
done  all  things  well.'  No  children  ever  had  a  better 
mother,  and  none  can  have  a  surer  hope  regarding  her 
who  is  gone ;  and  the  gentle  departure  which  has  closed 
that  beautiful  career  completes  the  loving-kindness  of 
the  Lord." 

"  Stonehouse,  April  11,  1855. 

"My  dearest  Annie, —  ...  It  was  after  midnight 
when  I  passed  through  Stonehouse,  and  my  meditations 
were  rather  mournful  The  habits  of  the  people  here  are 
very  late.  In  many  houses  the  lights  were  still  burning. 
At  the  manse  I  found  William,  and  Andrew,  and  Jane 
Proudfoot  sitting  up  for  me.  When  I  had  gone  up  to 
bed,  Andrew  came  to  my  room  and  invited  me  to  go  in 
and  see  mamma.  She  lay  in  her  coffin,  the  most  wonder- 
ful sight  I  ever  saw,  her  features  as  full  and  firm,  her 
complexion  as  fresh  and  with  a  hue  as  ruddy  as  in  the 
highest  health,  and  a  calm  reposing  expression.  It  was 
quite  beautiful.  And  yet  it  was  very  solemn  there,  in 
that  cold  and  windy  room  with  candle-light,  between  one 
and  two  in  the  morning,  and  all  the  past  rushed  back,  far 
more  vividly  than  if  there  had  been  a  greater  change." 


HIS  MOTHERS  BURIAL.  449 

"Stonehocjse,  April  12,  1855. 
"  My  dearest  Annie, — We  have  just  returned  from  fol- 
lowing to  their  resting-place  the  dear  remains.  It  would 
seem  that,  in  the  wanderings  of  her  last  days,  her  thoughts 
were  all  of  her  early  years,  the  bright  scenes  of  her  girl- 
hood ;  and  it  looked  as  if  the  happy  remembrance  had 
given  a  younger  as  well  as  gladder  expression  to  her 
countenance.  Certainly  I  have  seldom  seen  it  so  placid 
and  free  of  care  as  when  I  took  my  last  look  of  it  this 
morning.  She  had  given  Andrew  what  had  been  her 
church  Bible  fifty  years  ago,  in  two  red  morocco  silver- 
clasped  volumes,  with  a  good  deal  of  her  pencil-writing 
in  them.  Poor  Andrew,  his  grief  is  more  bitter  than  ours. 
He  feels  that  his  earthly  sheet-anchor  is  gone.  It  was  veiy 
affecting  at  her  funeral  to-day,  carrying  her  unconscious 
form  over  the  gravel  path  and  out  at  the  green  gate  which 
had  been  familiar  with  her  presence  so  long.  Nearly  a 
hundred  of  the  villagers  attended,  all  anxious  to  have 
their  turn  in  carrying  the  cofQn  a  little  way." 

In  common  with  all  ministers  in  great  cities,  he  experi- 
enced the  difficidty  of  obtaining  personal  access  to  those 
members  of  the  flock,  young  men,  for  the  most  part,  wdio 
were  closely  occupied  during  the  day,  and  had  no  family 
home  in  London.  By  aid  of  zealous  elders  and  deacons 
this  difficulty  was  in  some  measure  surmounted.  From  a 
correspondence  in  1855  between  Dr.  Hamilton  and  Mr.  A. 
Wark,  at  that  time  a  deacon,  I  learn  the  method  adopted. 
The  deacon  intimates  to  the  minister  that  he  finds  the 
superintendence  in  his  district  defective,  and  suggests  that 

2f 


450         METHOD  OF  VISITING  THE  YOUNG  MEN. 

a  meeting  of  all  might  be  attained  in  the  evening  if  he 
could  undertake  to  attend  and  preside.  The  minister 
cordially  consents,  thankful  for  the  opportunity.  A  cir- 
cular is  prepared  and  distributed ;  the  meeting  is  convened. 
To  the  great  dehght  of  both  parties,  the  evening  is  spent 
partly  in  friendly  recognitions  and  conversations,  partly 
in  counsels  and  prayers.  The  process  is  repeated  at  in- 
tervals in  the  same  district,  and  spreads  into  others. 

It  was  at  one  of  those  city  meetings,  held  in  the  district 
of  Mr.  Gillespie,  that  the  much  appreciated  published  ser- 
mon on  "  Thankfulness"  originated.  In  the  course  of  some 
calls  made  by  the  minister  and  elder  in  company  during 
the  day,  Mr.  Gillespie  mentioned  the  passage  regarding 
thankfulness  in  Isaak  Walton,  and  showed  it  to  him 
when  he  reached  home  in  the  evening.  The  address  for 
that  time  was  founded  upon  it,  and  that  address  soon  ex- 
panded into  the  discourse,  preached  on  a  public  occasion 
in  the  north  of  England,  and  afterwards  pubhshed  as  a  tract. 

The  talents  of  the  minister  were  peculiarly  adapted  for 
tliis  class  of  the  community,  and  for  turning  to  the  best 
account  any  such  easy  interview.-^ 

"May  1855.— On  Monday,  j\Iay  21, 1  left  Dudley,  where 


1  In  my  ovra  experience  I  have  met  the  same  difBculty,  and  partially  over- 
come it  in  the  same  way.  Yonng  men  dissociated  from  families  in  great  mer- 
cantile cities  are  precisely  the  class  who  at  once  most  need  the  visit  of  a 
minister,  and  are  most  apt  to  be  overlooked.  Wlien  I  attempted  to  reach 
them  in  the  ordinary  way,  I  experienced  one  difficulty  first  in  finding  them 
out,  and  then  another  in  finding  them  in.  If  the  district  enjoys  the  services  of 
a  deacon  or  elder  who  has  some  love  in  his  heart  and  some  faculty  of  organiza- 
tion in  his  head,  the  object  will  be  obtained.  A  circular,  a  meeting  place, 
either  in  a  private  house  or  a  public  room,  a  cup  of  tea  with  a  slice  of  bread- 
there  is  your  opportunity ;  it  is  your  own  fault  if  you  do  not  occupj 
it. 


RAILWAY  COLLISION.  451 

I  had  been  preaching  on  the  previous  Sabbath,  at  eleven 
o'clock.  I  took  my  place  in  a  second-class  carriage,  the 
last  of  the  train ;  two  other  men  were  in  it.  We  had  not 
gone  many  hundred  yards  from  the  station,  and  were 
passing  under  a  bridge,  when  in  an  instant  there  was  a 
violent  shock,  and  all  was  outcry  and  copfusion.  One  of 
the  men  beside  me  struck  his  head  against  the  wooden 
partition,  and  howled  out  most  hideously;  the  other, 
whose  knee  was  sadly  crushed,  was  pitched  over  from  the 
opposite  angle  to  where  I  was ;  my  hat  was  knocked  off, 
but  I  picked  it  up,  and  found  myself  quite  uninjured. 
The  incident  was  for  a  moment  very  terrible.  The  usual 
noise  of  a  train  in  motion  instantly  converted  into  a  crash, 
and  that  crash  as  instantly  succeeded  by  a  sort  of  silence 
— the  clack  and  whizz  of  the  wheels  and  engine  arrested 
only  to  make  audible  the  shrieks  and  groans  of  the  pas- 
sengers. On  opening  the  carriage  door  it  was  terrible  to 
see  so  many  people  with  cut  cheeks  and  brows,  one  poor 
man  with  his  face  covered  with  a  veil  of  blood,  and  faint- 
ing ladies,  and  all  the  uncertainty  as  to  the  extent  of  the 
disaster.  However,  it  proved  that  no  one  was  fatally  in- 
jured, though  few  had  escaped  without  a  cut  or  a  bruise, 
and  some,  I  believe,  had  broken  bones.  We  had  run  into 
another  train,  the  two  engines  coming  tilt  at  one  another, 
but  neither  was  at  full  speed — a  merciful  and  memorable 
Providence,  to  which  was  owing  the  preservation  of  many 
lives.  I  was  reading  the  hfe  of  Joseph  Hardcastle,  in 
Morrison's  Fathers  and  Founders  of  the  Missionary  Society, 
borrowed  from  his  daughter,  Mrs,  Haldane.  I  was  reading 
at  page  391 — a  letter  written  to  Mrs.  Hardcastle  when 


4o2  REST  FOR  THE  WEARY. 

away  from  home,  and  had  got  to  the  following  sentence  : — 
'  It  is  however  necessary,  though  painful,  to  reflect  that  a 
separation  -will,  at  no  very  distant  date,  take  place,  in  which 
there  admits  no  hope  or  possibiKty.  of  ever  again  associat- 
ing in  the  present  life.  How  solitary  and  mournful  will 
the  remainder  of  existence  be  to  the  sorrowing  survivor ! 
how  dreary  the  journey  which  must  be  travelled  alone  !' 
In  the  panic  of  the  crash,  which  took  place  at  this  word,  I 
had  just  time  to  think  that  perhaps  the  journey  was  ended. 
But  it  has  been  other^^'ise  ordered.  May  the  interval  be 
spent  in  doing  what  will  make  the  pang  less  bitter  when 
it  comes,  and  the  memories  afterwards  stiU  sweeter  and 
more  sacred." 

" Littlehampton,  Sept.  2. — AVeary,  weary,  weary!  After 
ninety-six  Sabbaths  of  preaching,  last  Sabbath  was  the 
first  day  of  rest  I  have  had  for  nearly  two  years.  The 
vital  powers  seem  low,  and  even  in  my  briskest  move- 
ments there  is  a  latent  languor  of  which  I  am  only  too 
conscious.  The  difficulty  is  to  get  a  little  relaxation. 
This  is  a  charming  place,  and  our  kind  friend,  Mr.  Ander- 
son, has  taken  us  delightful  trips  to  Arimdel,  etc.,  but 
loads  of  letters,  college  examinations,  and  such  things 
often  make  it  late  in  the  day  before  I  can  get  any  good  of 
the  open  air.  Had  a  most  kind  message  from  the  elders, 
urging  me  to  get  a  month's  supply  for  the  pulpit,  so  as  to 
cet  a  thorough  renovation." 

The  next  letter,  from  a  very  eminent  minister  in  Kew 
Vork,  since  deceased,  lifts  again  a  corner  of  the  veil,  and 


DE.  JAMES  W.  ALEXANDER.  453 

gives  us  another  glimpse  of  the  real  securities  for  peace 
between  Great  Britain  and  America  : — 

FROM  DE.  JAMES  W.  ALEXANDER. 

"  Xew  York,  Xoi\  19,  1855. 
"  PiEV.  AND  DEAR  SiR, —  .  .  .  Often  have  I  recalled  the 
liome  which,  as  a  stranger,  I  enjoyed  in  your  company  in 
1851  ;  and  often  have  I  wished  I  could  see  you  in  my 
home  and  pulpit  here.  Late  events  have  made  my  heart 
tremble  for  the  ark  of  peace  ;  and  this  feeliug  has  coloured 
both  my  preaching  and  public  utterances  in  prayer.  The 
dread  of  war  between  our  respective  countries  has,  however, 
been  much  more  lively  with  you  than  with  us  ;  to  a  degree 
which  has  caused  nothing  worse  than  a  smile  in  most 
companies  with  Mdiich  I  am  conversant.  It  is  wonderful 
how  much  of  the  froth  and  foam  is  floated  over  to  you  in 
the  shape  of  newspaper  extravagance.  I  protest  to  you, 
on  the  w^ord  of  a  Christian,  that,  living  as  I  do  in  our 
greatest  town,  I  have  never  met  with  a  human  being  who 
did  not  look  on  war  with  Great  Britain  as  horrible.  At  the 
same  time,  I  am  not  prepared  to  aver  that  there  are  not 
those  who  would  (like  Catiline's  fellows)  seem  to  gain  by 
outbreaks.  By  comparing  your  oAvn  public  journals  with 
those  of  the  Continent,  you  will  be  able  to  conceive  how 
the  burst  of  a  gazetteer  in  a  hasty  leader  might  come 
erroneously  to  be  taken  for  the  popular  acclamation.  And 
our  newspapers  are  more  reckless  and  licentious  than 
yours.  There  is  a  profound  and  almost  universal  feeling, 
among  thoughtful  and  religious  people,  of  a  common 
interest  with  our  brethren  in  England,  as  having  a  com- 


454  CHKISTIAN  BIOGRAPHY. 

mimity  of  blood,  language,  and  faith.  Demagogues  and 
ambitious  plotters  might  involve  us,  but  our  hope  is  in 
God.  And,  in  my  humble  judgment,  the  sanctuaries  of 
both  countries  ought  to  be  filled  with  supplications  con- 
cerning this  matter  to  the  God  of  peace.   .   .   . 

"I  am  older  and  graver  than  when  we  met.  My 
honoured  father  and  my  beloved  mother  have  since  fallen 
asleep.  My  own  health  last  autumn  was  impaired  to  the 
degree  of  imminent  danger.  For  some  months,  however, 
I  have  been  in  full  service,  in  a  very  large  congregation, 
and  with  responsibilities  which  I  need  not  describe  to 
you. 

"  May  we,  through  grace,  fight  the  good  fight,  and  lay 
hold  on  eternal  life  !  My  poor  prayers  shall  be  for  yon 
and  yours. — I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  fellow- servant, 

James  W.  Alexandee. 

"No.  30  West  Eighteentli  Street." 

FKOM  MR.  PETER  BAYNE. 

"4  NicoLSON  Street,  Edinburgh, 
January  11,  1855. 

"  Eev.  dear  Sir, — Permit  me  to  offer  for  your  accept- 
ance the  accompanying  volume,  I  cannot  but  feel  that 
there  is  a  certain  specialty  in  sending  you  a  book  which 
attempts  Christian  biography  ;  and  if  I  made  out  a  list  of 
tliose  to  whom  I  am  more  particularly  indebted  for  assist- 
ance, you  should  certainly  occupy  a  high  place ;  your 
paper  on  '  Simeon  and  his  contemporaries'  (or  predecessors, 
as  I  think  it  was)  formed  an  epoch  in  my  life.    .   .   . 

"  I  am  a  student  of  divinity  in  connexion  with  the  Free 


THE  SEED  BEARING  FRUIT.  455 

Church,  this  being  my  fourth  session.  I  have  had  oppor- 
tunities of  marking  the  influence  of  Carlylian  infidelity  on 
foung  minds,  and  have  seen  one  or  two  of  the  noblest,  and 
perhaps  ablest  young  men  I  have  ever  known  turned  from 
the  plain  old  path  thereby.  This,  together  with  a  desire 
to  do  in  Christian  biography  what  has  been  done  in  the 
biography  of  natural  religionists,  put  me  on  the  track  of 
thought  which  issued  in  Christian  Life.  This  is  nearly 
what  I  state  in  the  preface  :  there,  however,  referring 
mainly  to  the  ideas,  and  here  to  their  occasion.  I  sincerely 
say  that,  had  your  essays  been  republished  from  the  North 
British  Revieiu,  one  great  inducement  to  the  composition 
of  my  volume  had  been  withdrawn,  Peter  Bayne." 

Although  Dr.  Hamilton's  literary  life  has  scarcely  passed 
its  meridian,  the  harvest  has  for  some  time  been  begun. 
From  time  to  time  indications  appear  in  various  quarters 
that  the  seed  sown  by  his  hand  has  been  fruitful.  What- 
ever weeping  he  may  have  experienced  in  the  seed-time, 
he  may  now  bear  home  his  sheaves  rejoicing.  His  reli- 
gious biographies  stimulated  and  directed  a  thoughtful 
student  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  ;  the  result  was,  a 
volume  on  the  Christian  life,  in  its  concrete  forms,  which 
has  been  largely  read,  and  highly  valued.  This  book  was 
itself  the  first-fruits  of  an  original  and  suggestive  mind, 
and  the  commencement  of  an  active  literary  life. 

"London,  Jan.  10,  1656. 

"  My  dear  William, —  .  .  .  Since  you  were  here,  we 
have  hardly  spent  an  evening  at  home.     Usually,  our  visits 


456  "gentle  and  easy  to  be  entreated." 

are  to  good,  matter-of-fact  friends.  Sometimes  tliey  are 
to  places  where  people  come  whom  you  are  glad  to  see. 
Last  night  I  dined  with  MmTay  of  Albemarle  Street,  and 
every  guest  was  a  notable — Professor  Owen,  Ellis  (the 
Polynesian),  Selwyn  (editor  of  the  Quarterly),  Sir  John 
M'Neill,  and  a  surgeon  of  General  Williams's  staff,  who  has 
just  arrived  from  Kars.  Last  week,  too,  at  Mr.  jNIellors, 
we  encountered  a  number  of  legal  celebrities,  and  if  there 
were  time  to  note  all  the  curious  anecdotes  and  good 
sayings  of  such  seasons  they  would  make  an  interesting 
miscellany. 

"  Mudie,  the  librarian,  was  kind  enough  to  make  me  a 
present  of  Macaulay,  the  morning  of  publication ;  but  I 
only  began  it  yesterday.  A  review  of  Harris's  Patriarchy, 
for  the  Eclectic,  will  snap  up  to-day  and  to-morrow,  which 
would  otherwise  have  been  free,  as  I  have  only  one  sermon 
to  prepare.  On  Sabbath  evening  I  have  to  preach  in 
Exeter  Hall." 

"Birkenhead,  April2\,  1856. 

"  Mt  deakest  Annie, — Much  was  I  delighted  with 
your  warm,  wifely  letter.  It  came  in  yesterday  morning, 
and  I  read  it,  reserving  others  for  to-day.  You  greatly 
overrate  my  poiccis  of  pleasing,  and  in  some  respects  my 
disposition.  On  the  whole,  I  hope  I  have  a  certain  fund 
of  kindliness,  and  I  suffer  exquisitely  from  giving  pain. 
Things  I  say  in  the  way  of  finding  fault,  or  which  escape 
in  the  course  of  an  animated  debate,  often  give  more  dis- 
tress to  myself  than  to  their  objects.  But  I  frequently 
reproach  myself  for  not  making  more  vigorous  efforts  to 


BEAKING  INTERRUPTIONS.  457 

diffuse  happiness.  My  literary  propensities  are  here  the 
great  antagonists.  With  a  love  of  books  and  a  thirst  for 
information  sometimes  approaching  frenzy,  I  get  so  little 
done  in  the  way  of  reading  and  learning  that  what  I  do  in 
that  way  seems  selfish.  No  minister  in  all  my  acquaint- 
ance has  the  same  amount  of  miscellaneous  work,  busi- 
ness, correspondence,  church  affairs,  civihties  to  strangers, 
foreigners,  aristocratic  (?)  acquaintances — by  the  time  it 
is  despatched  I  have  only  a  day  or  two  in  the  week  for 
sermons,  pastoral  visits,  self-improving  study,  etc.  Were 
it  not  for  this,  I  flatter  myself  I  would  be  so  amiable ! 
You  must  make  up  for  my  lack. 

"  My  host  is  a  man  of  great  evenliness  and  sweetness  of 
spirit.  We  had  a  very  pleasant  Sabbath.  On  Saturday 
I  felt  a  tendency  to  cold ;  to-day  I  am  delightfully  well. 
—In  much  haste,  your  ever  affectionate  husband, 

"J.  Hamilton." 

I  have  often  admired,  when  I  had  occasion  to  be  living 
with  Mm  in  his  hoiise  for  a  few  days,  the  facility  and 
cheerfulness  with  which  he  submitted  to  interruptions, 
when  he  was  engaged  with  his  own  severer  work.  He  is 
sitting  in  his  chair,  with  a  miniature  jointed  desk  attached 
to  its  arm,  drawing  from  his  brain  the  threads  of  thought, 
and  tracing  them  quickly  with  his  little  crow  quill,  when 
a  rap  is  heard  at  the  door,  and  a  stranger  is  introduced — 
a  Presbyterian  minister,  or  a  general  philanthropist  from 
America.  Forthwith  the  conversation  begins.  How  it 
goes  with  slavery  in  the  south.  Do  Yale  and  Princeton 
thrive?     How  do  latitude,   soil,  and  sea  air  affect  the 


458  PURSUIT  OF  KNOWLEDGE 

cotton  crop  in  quantity  or  quality?  He  is  immediately 
at  home,  and  makes  the  stranger  at  home  too.  The 
conversation  in  due  time  draws  to  a  close,  and  the  visitor 
retires  with  a  heart  perhaps  a  shade  happier  and 
more  hopeful.  The  student  flings  himself  dow^n  again 
on  his  chair  with  some  quaint  remark,  at  which  he 
laughs  heartily  himself,  and  by  which  he  shakes  the 
sides  of  the  friend  who  may  be  sitting  at  work  in 
another  corner.  In  another  moment  the  big  brow  is  knit- 
ting itself,  folding  and  unfolding  its  long  deep  furrows. 
The  end  of  the  broken  thread  is  caught,  the  crow  quill  is 
again  in  motion,  and  the  stream  is  flowing  at  once  rapidly 
and  smoothly.  In  a  few  minutes  another  rap  resounds 
through  the  house ;  and  if  you  happen  to  be  looking  in 
the  right  direction  you  will  observe  a  twitch  of  vexation 
flitting  across  his  face.  It  is  but  a  momentary  emotion 
liowever ;  ere  the  new  visitor  is  announced  he  is  on  his 
feet,  springing  across  the  room  to  meet  him.  In  this  case 
it  is  a  man  from  the  city  whom  he  slightly  knows,  gather- 
ing up  votes  and  items  of  influence  with  the  view  of 
placing  an  orphan  in  a  certain  hospital.  Dr.  Hamilton's 
word  in  such  a  case  will  go  far  with  this  and  that  other 
large  contributor,  and  his  recommendation  will  procure 
several  votes.  The  case  is  good,  and  two  or  three  notes 
are  quickly  written.  The  philanthropist  departs  with 
hurried  and  warm  expressions  of  thankfulness ;  and  the 
student  betakes  himself  to  the  task  of  finding  and  knitting 
his  broken  thread  again. 

Thus  the  wheel  goes  round ;  for  even  at  his  busy  time 
he  was  not  apt  to  retire  or  hide  himself.     His  power  of 


UNDER  DIFFICULTIES.  459 

recovering  the  thought  after  an  interruption,  and  of  bear- 
ing the  interruption  without  a  symptom  of  irritation,  was 
much  observed  and  admired  by  his  friends.  This  faculty, 
however,  was  not  a  power  that  came  of  its  own  accord. 
The  act  as  exercised  by  him  seemed  easy,  as  the  tripping 
of  a  musician's  fingers  over  the  keys  of  an  instrument 
seems  easy,  hardly  requiring  an  exercise  of  the  thought  or 
will  at  all,  but  in  both  cases  the  facility  has  been  acquired 
by  much  honest  labour.  In  Dr.  Hamilton's  character  two 
principles,  in  some  respects  antagonistic,  combined  to 
produce  the  result.  By  judgment  and  habit  he  set  a  very 
high  value  on  time  for  the  accomplishment  of  life's  great 
work,  and  a  high  value  also  on  cheerful  affability  mani- 
fested toward  all,  as  an  effective  practical  recommendation 
of  the  gospel.  Between  these  two  he  was  sometimes  very 
hard  pressed.  And,  alas!  even  when  he  overcame  the 
difficulty,  and  gave  each  its  due,  the  effort  overstrained  his 
powers  and  undermined  his  health. 

It  has  been  said  that  to  look  on  near  objects  as  they  flit 
past  from  the  window  of  a  railway  carriage  injures  the 
sight,  by  compelling  the  eyes  to  adjust  themselves  to 
different  objects  in  too  rapid  succession.  In  a  similar 
way,  although  he  succeeded  in  quickly  adjusting  the  focus 
of  mental  vision  to  the  interrupted  train  of  thought,  the 
exertion,  frequently  repeated,  was  fitted  to  w^ear  out  the 
faculties,  and  induce  premature  decay.  The  sacrifice  of 
life  to  duty  is  not  perhaps  so  rare  as  the  readers  of  hero- 
history  might  be  disposed  to  think. 


460  "CAST  DOWN,  BUT  NOT  DESTROYED." 

"  10  CoKNFiELB  Terrace,  Eastbourne, 
Aufjust  13,  1856. 

"The  elasticity  which  God  has  given  to  the  human 
mind  is  great.  The  last  fortnight  has  been  deeply  clouded 
by  the  death  of  C.  M.  Charles,  poor  Helen's  early  widow- 
hood, and  many  lesser  sorrows  connected  with  that  greater 
one.  I  have  not  been  without  anxieties  connected  with  tht 
congregation.  Our  children  have  hooping-cough,  and  after 
every  precaution  to  keep  her  insulated,  I  fear  poor  little 
Christina  has  taken  it,  and  the  last  nights  have  been  very 
wretched.  But  sleepy,  heart- stricken,  labour-wasted  as  I 
am,  and  full  of  sympathy  for  my  weak  and  over-toiled 
wife,  something  keeps  my  spirits  up.  Doubtless,  mercies 
superabound.  The  birth  of  this  little  daughter  and  her 
mother's  restoration  ;  the  hopeful  convalescence  of  the 
three  elder  ones;  the  kindness  of  Lady  Pirie,  the  dear 
Watsons,  and  other  friends ;  this  sweet  place ;  the  plea- 
sures of  hope  ;  the  over- canopying  brightness  of  the  new 
covenant ;  and  the  knowledge  that  there  is  '  a  better 
country.' " 

TO  MR.  WATSON. 

"Eastbourne,  Sept.  4,  1856. 
"  A  series  of  sixpenny  booklings  might  be  got  together 
by  a  little  contrivance  and  correspondence — 12  numbers. 
Could  not  Gosse  do  it  ?  He  has  many  friends,  and  is  a 
new  name  in  Berners  Street.  My  own  desire  is  to  keep 
every  hour  of  leisure  for  the  next  four  years  ! !  sacred  for 
this  great  work  on  the  Bible.  It  will  need  it  all,  and  de- 
serves a  great  deal  more.  I  am  often  much  excited  about 
it,  sometimes  quite  appalled.     The  only  intermediate  work 


THE  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  461 

I  have  to  get  out  of  hand  is  The  Great  Biography.  I 
have  corrected  and  got  ready  so  much  of  it.  This  time 
I  think  it  will  be  better  to  merge  the  lecture  and  divide 
into  sections  like  a  book." 

The  ruling  passion  again !  Eager  to  despatch  the  work 
in  hand,  not  now  for  its  own  sake,  but  in  order  to  clear  the 
way  for  a  greater  that  loomed  beyond  it. 

We  regret  that  there  is  not  room  in  this  record  for  fuller 
notices  of  the  mission  to  China.^  For  three  years  William 
Burns  was  in  the  field  alone.  In  1 8 5  0  a  medical  missionary. 
Dr.  Young,  joined  him.  After  a  course  of  great  usefulness, 
Dr.  Young  died  in  1855.  In  1853  Mr.  James  Johnston,  a 
licentiate  of  the  English  Church,  was  appointed  ;  but  after 
a  trial  of  two  years,  he  was  obliged  to  return  on  account 
of  his  health,  and  has  long  occupied  an  important  post  in 
Glasgow.  In  1855  Mr.  Carstairs  Douglas,  a  licentiate  of 
the  Free  Church,  was  ordained  at  Glasgow  for  the  mission 
work  in  China,  and  has  from  that  day  till  now  consecrated 

1  There  is,  however,  the  less  reason  for  regret  on  this  account,  that  a  Me- 
moir of  William  Burns,  necessarily  containing  some  history  of  the  Mission, 
will  issue  about  the  same  time  from  the  press  of  the  same  publishers.  Sub- 
joined is  a  register  of  the  Mission  from  its  commencement  till  the  death  oi 
Dr.  Hamilton  : — 

Kev.  W.  C.  Burns,  ordained  at  Sunderland,  April  22,  1847,  Arrived  Nov.  16. 1847,  At  Newchwahg. 

James  H.  Young,  M.D.,  Edinburgh,  appointed  1S30,  died  lUth  February  1855. 

Kev.  James  Johnston,    ordained  at  Manchester,  April  26,  1853,  returned  invalided  September  1855. 

•  „    Carstaiks  Douglas,  „     Glasgow.       Feb.  21, 1855,    Arrived  July  1855,        At  Amoy. 

,"     David  Sandemah,  „      Liverpool,    April  26,  1856,        „        Dec.  1856,  died  31st  July  185a 

•  i    George  Smith,  „     Aberdeen,    June  8.  1857,  „        Nov.  1857,        At  Swatow. 
",    W.  S.  Swanson,                    „      London,       April  2-'.  185a,        „        July  2,  18G0,      „  Hume. 

..    HUR  L.  Mackenzie,  „      London,  Jan.  6,  1860,  „  July  2,  1860,      „  Swatow. 

Hugh  CowiE,  sailed  from  London,  July  1862,  „  Dec.  1862,  „  Ahoy. 

•  „    William  GaULC,  M.D.,      „  M.ay  1.  1863,  „  Sept.  18,  1863,    „  Swatow. 
"    J.  L.  Maxwell,  M.D.,        „  July  1863,  .,  Dec.  1863,  „  Formosa. 

•Rev.  Wm.  M'Grecor,  ordained  at  Aberdeen,      May  16,  1864,  „        Oct,  1864,  „  Amov. 

Eev.  David  Masson,  „      London,       June  20,  1866,         „        Washed  overboard  and  diwvned 

Kev!  HUGH  KiTCUiE,  „      London,       June  17,  1867.  t^ov.  10, 186G. 

•  Sent  out  and  supported  by  the  Association  in  Scotland. 
Dr.  Carnegie  has  charge  of  the  Hospital  at  Amoy. 


462  MR.  DAVID  SANDEMAN. 

liigli  talents  and  character  with  singular  simplicity  and 
steadfastness  to  the  work  of  the  Lord  in  that  heathen  land. 
Mr.  Douglas  is  now  the  senior  member  of  the  mission,  and 
is  eminently  qualified  by  learning,  acuteness,  and  judicial 
calmness,  either  for  conducting  the  work  on  the  spot,  or 
representing  it,  when  necessary,  before  the  Church  and  the 
world. 

David  Sandeman,  the  next  missionary  appointed,  has, 
through  his  family  connexion,  his  youth,  his  apostolic 
devotion,  and  the  shortness  of  his  course,  attracted  in  an 
extraordinary  measure  the  sympathetic  regard  of  all  who 
love  the  cause  of  missions  in  the  land.  Possessing  by  the 
favour  of  the  King  all  the  talents,  he  laid  them  out  without 
reserve  in  the  King's  service.  A  pleasant  glimpse  of  his 
bearing  on  the  eve  of  departure  for  the  mission-field  is 
given  in  a  letter  from  Dr.  Hamilton  to  Mrs.  George  Bar- 
hour,  his  sister.  Mrs.  Barbour  was  in  a  peculiar  manner 
attached  to  this  mission  from  the  first.  She  deeply  ap- 
preciated the  ministry  of  William  Burns  while  he  remained 
at  home  ;  and  after  he  was  permanently  settled  in  China, 
she  contributed,  through  Dr.  Hamilton,  to  the  Messenger 
a  most  valuable  series  of  papers,  under  the  title  "A 
Hearer's  Notes  of  Discourses  by  William  Burns."  Accord- 
ingly, it  is  in  a  strain  of  the  most  affectionate  esteem  and 
regard  that  Dr.  Hamilton  addresses  her  on  the  occasion  of 
her  brother's  visit  to  him  in  London,  preparatory  to  his 
voyage. 

Mr.  Barbour  has  all  along  borne  the  burden  or  enjoyed 
the  privilege  (for  both  are  true)  of  ministering  to  the 
mission, — in  taking  charge  of  its  affairs  in  Scotland. 


LETTER  TO  MRS.  BARBOUR.  463 


FROM  DR.  HAMILTON. 

"LoNDox,  Oct.  9,  lSo6. 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Barbour, — Owing  to  my  absence  from 
town  there  has  not  yet  appeared  a  very  important  letter 
written  by  j\Ir.  Doughis  in  May,  givhig  an  account  of  the 
ordination  of  Chinese  elders.  Your  brother's  visit  (much 
shortened,  however,  by  frequent  expeditions  elsewhere) 
was  a  great  treat  to  us.  It  is  six  years  since  any  one 
passed  from  under  our  roof  so  completely  caiTying  with 
him  the  heart  of  every  inmate.  So  manly,  so  noble,  and 
assuring,  every  feature  radiant  with  kindness,  and  every 
movement  instinct  with  grace  and  goodness,  he  had  all 
the  happiness  of  one  wdio  was  taking  a  right  step,  and  who 
knew  that  the  Lord  was  with  him.  To  look  at  him,  and 
think  of  the  sacrifice  he  was  making,  was  enough  to  bring 
the  tears  into  the  eyes  of  others  ;  but  amidst  all  his  self- 
consecration  there  was  on  his  own  part  no  consciousness 
of  sacrifice,  and  many  a  cheerful  sally  as  well  as  his  whole 
bright  demeanour  betokened  the  peace  within.  The  night 
he  went  away,  he  went  up  to  the  nursery  and  kissed  baby 
in  the  cradle  (for  w^hom  he  has  left  a  beautiful  Bible,  to 
be  given  her  when  old  enough),  and  went  down  to  the 
kitchen  and  spoke  to  the  servants,  and  gave  each  of  them 
a  book  ;  and  now,  like  ourselves,  they  feel  that,  ever  since 
he  left,  something  very  good  and  holy  has  passed  awa}^ 
My  wife  and  I  now  understand  what  it  must  have  been  to 
his  mother  and  yourselves  to  part  wdth  such  a  son  and 
brother.  But  I  doubt  not  the  blessing  will  be  proportional. 
I  trust  he  is  to  turn  many  to  righteousness,  and  will  shine 


464         THE  SABBATH-SCHOOLS  OF  STOCKPORT. 

as  a  star  in  the  firmament.  We  were  much  concerned  to 
hear  that  you  were  suffermg  so  much  when  Mr.  Barbour 
came  away.  Mrs.  Hamilton  sends  her  warmest  regards, 
and  I  remain,  dear  Mrs.  Barbour,  most  truly  yours, 

"  James  Hamilton." 

Dr.  Hamilton  presided  over  the  Foreign  Missions  Com- 
mittee till  his  death.  "  As  Convener  of  the  Foreign 
Missions  Committee  of  the  English  Presbyterian  Church, 
he  cast  the  halo  of  his  genius  and  the  glow  of  his  warm 
loving  nature  round  their  Mission  to  China ;  and  the 
popularity  of  his  much  honoured  name  has  given  it  a 
publicity  far  beyond  the  lunits  of  the  denomination  he 
distinguished  by  his  ministry.  His  ardent  character  in- 
fused energy  into  the  foreign  enterprise  of  a  Church  apt 
to  be  absorbed  by  its  struggle  with  difficulties  at  home ; 
and  the  fervour  of  his  piety  diffused  itself  through  all  the 
operations  of  the  society  over  which  he  presided." 

"Stockport,  Oct.  13,  1856.    10  a.m. 

"My  dearest  Annie, — I  got  safely  and  comfortably 
here  before  eleven  on  Saturday.  Mr.  Wilkinson  met  me  at 
the  train.  He  is  a  C02y  bachelor,  with  a  nice  house  ;  grand 
piano,  on  which  he  plays  splendidly,  and  everything  a  la 
mode.  Yesterday,  nearly  4000  children  were  mustered  in 
their  mighty  school-room,  to  whom  I  made  an  address ; 
and  I  preached  in  the  same  place  in  the  evening,  amidst  a 
tempest  of  music  from  organ,  bassoons,  kettle-drums,  and 
hundreds  of  choristers.  However,  I  confess  it  was  remark- 
ably good  music." 


THE  BISHOP  OF  LONDON.  465 

"London,  Oct.  17,  1856. 

"  My  dear  William, — .  .  .  Last  Sabbath  I  preaclied 
for  the  Sunday  schools  at  Stockport,  and  had  all  the  organs, 
kettle-drums,  etc.,  of  wliich  Dr.  Chalmers  gives  such  a 
comical  account.  But  I  am  in  no  mood  to  quiz  them.  In 
some  respects  it  is  the  noblest  institution  of  the  kind  in  all 
the  empire.  In  the  morning  I  addressed -4000  children  ; 
in  the  evening  a  vast  congregation  of  grown-up  people. 
The  collection  was  £209.  My  old  feUow-student  Tait  is 
now  Bishop  of  London.  There  could  hardly  have  been  a 
better  appointment.  I  wrote  him  a  few  lines  of  congra- 
tulation, and  had  a  very  hearty  answer." 

The  letter  from  Dr.  Tait,  which  seems  to  have  been 
written  after  he  was  nominated  to  the  Bishopric  of  London, 
but  before  his  consecration,  is  simple,  frank,  and  brotherly. 
It  is  honourable  to  both,  and  ought  to  find  a  place  in  this 
record  : — 

FliOM  THE  DEAN  OF  C.UILISLE. 

''Oct.  15,  1856. 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Hamilton, — Let  me  thank  you  for  your 
very  kind  letter.  The  sad  events  which  have  befallen 
Mrs.  Tait  and  myself  during  the  last  six  months  make  the 
thoughts  connected  with  this  unexpected  change  in  our 
prospects  doubly  solemn.  It  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  me 
to  beheve  that  I  have  the  hearty  prayers  as  well  as  the 
good  wishes  of  many  kind  friends,  and  I  assure  you  that 
I  greatly  feel  your  kindness. 

"Many  changes  have  taken  place  since  our  Glasgow 
days,  yet  how  short  the  time  appears  since  we  were  there  ! 
A  strong  motive,  in  this  shortness  of  life,  to  work  while  it 

2  G 


466  FRUITS  FROM  "LIFE  IN  EARNEST. 

is  day.     I  hope  we  may  soon  meet. — Believe  me  to  be, 
my  dear  Mr.  Hamilton,  ever  yours  sincerely, 

"  A.  C.  Tait." 

One  of  tliose  men  whom  Life  in  Eaymest  caught  as  with 

a  hook  in  the  jaws,  and  convicted  of  wasting  precious 

talents,  writes  to  him  as  follows  : — 

"  Oct.  24,  1856. 

"  Eevekend  Sik,- — To  one  whose  life  has,  alas  !  been  very 
much  misspent,  the  accidental  perusal  of  your  excellent 
book,  entitled  Life  in  Earned,  has  caused  a  great  revulsion 
of  feeling.  It  has  suddenly,  as  it  were,  conjured  up  around 
me  ten  thousand  ghosts  of  neglected  opportunities ;  it 
says  '  redeem  the  morning  of  time  ; '  but  with  me,  alas  ! 
the  morning  has  passed  away,  and  the  day  itseK  is  far 
spent,  and,  like  a  wearied  traveller  on  a  mistaken  road,  I 
have  at  length,  in  this  book,  found  a  guide-post  that  tells 
me  my  journey  has  been  in  vain  ! 

"  In  other  words,  the  reading  of  those  beautiful  lectures, 
with  their  fervent  and  glowing  language,  deep  and  pro- 
found reasoning,  heart-searching  appeals,  and  powerful 
illustrations,  has  awakened  me  to  the  stern,  but  deeply 
humihating  truth,  that  an  existence  of  upwards  of  thirty 
years  on  this  earth  has  been  altogether  unproductive,  and 
worse  than  useless. 

"  I  am  a  poor  and  comparatively  uneducated  artisan,  and 
I  should  rejoice  exceedingly  to  avail  myself  of  any  kind 
counsel  and  advice  which  one  so  eminently  qualified  as 
yourself  may  at  any  time  be  pleased  to  give  me,  whereby 
I  might  be  enabled  to  devote  many  of  those  '  leavings  of 
days  and  remnants  of  Iwurs'  which  have  hitherto  been 


"excelsior  "  FINISHED.  467 

triflingly,  and  therefore  uselessly,  employed,  to  better  and 
nobler  objects,  I  rely  upon  your  kindness  and  conde- 
scension to  pardon  my  presumption  in  thus  intruding  upon 
your  attention ;  and  beg  to  remain,  with  the  deepest  ad- 
miration and  respect  for  all  those  exalted  talents  and 
graces  which  adorn  your  truly  Christian  character,  your 
most  humble  and  obedient  servant,  G.  A.  B — . 

"  No.  3  Field  St.,  Bagnigge  WeUs  Road." 

A  touching  note  from  Lady  Verney  reveals  at  once  her 
strong  faith  in  God,  and  the  confidence  with  which  she 
could  open  her  heart  to  Dr.  Hamilton,  as  a  minister  of 
the  Gospel  and  a  fellow-disciple  of  Christ : — 

"Claydon,  Oct.  27,  1856. 

"My  deak  De.  Hamilton, — The  black  edge  will  tell 
you  of  our  sorrow,  but  it  is  a  poor  emblem  of  the  glory 
which  illuminated  our  precious  child's  last  moments.  I 
used  sometimes  to  think  a  sorrow  was  come  which  even 
God  could  not  heal ;  but  He  has  given  a  balm  which  I 
could  never  have  dared  to  ask  or  hope  for,  and  I  am  not 
crushed. — Believe  me,  yours  very  truly, 

"  Eliza  Veeney." 

"  Noveniber  28,  1856.— This  week  I  sent  the  last  MSS.  of 
Excelsior  to  press.  It  has  been  very  little  of  a  task- 
rather  a  pleasant  companion,  and  a  very  acceptable  source 
of  income  during  these  three  years.  I  feel  it  a  great 
mercy  that  never  once  has  the  publication  of  a  number 
(and  there  have  been  thirty- six)  been  delayed  by  illness 
or  any  other  cause.  Of  its  2700  pages,  I  have  written 
483,  or  more  than  a  sixth.      The  cliief  labour  has  been 


468  "  EXCELSIOR  "  COEEESPOKDENCE.     ' 

correcting  and  condensing  tlie  contributions  of  some  of 
our  less  practised  authors,  and  corresponding  with  all  and 
sundries.  Of  letters  received  I  have  preserved  np  to  this 
date  992,  and  I  have  written  more  than  that  number. 

"  I  now  stand  committed  to  a  new  undertaking,  whicli 
I  believe  I  shall  enjoy  very  much — Our  Christian  Classics. 
It  must  appear  on  January  1st,  but  not  one  word  is  yet 
written." 

Excelsior,  a  monthly  magazine  that  started  with  the 
express  intention  of  closing  at  the  end  of  three  years,  and 
that  kept  its  word,  was  now  finished.  It  constitutes  six 
beautiful  little  volumes,  full  of  miscellaneous  information, 
and  besprinkled  with  exquisite  pictorial  illustrations. 
The  thousand  letters  received  in  connexion  with  this  work 
are  bound  in  one  neat  volume,  and  labelled  "  Excelsior" 
in  gold  letters  on  the  back.  They  constitute  a  cabinet  of 
curiosities.  It  would  be  a  very  suitable  book  for  lending 
to  any  gentleman  who  might  be  ambitious  to  become  an 
editor.  In  particular,  he  seems  to  have  had  much  trouble 
with  an  American  story  that,  like  a  wounded  snake, 
dragged  its  slow  length  along  through  many  numbers  of 
the  magazine.  The  story  was  not  destitute  of  merit,  but 
the  readers  in  some  cases  were  destitute  of  patience,  and 
the  editor  was  dunned  by  requests,  expressed  sometimes 
with  more  energy  than  suavity,  to  cut  the  matter  short. 
Calmly  he  held  on  his  way,  profiting  by  liints  from  every 
quarter,  never  losing  his  temper,  and  never  slackening  his 
effort  until  his  task  was  done. 

The  Avork  that  succeeded  it,  announced  in  the  close  of 
the  letter,  is  totally   different  in  character.     It  consists 


"our  christian  classics."  469 

of  specimens  of  religious  writers  in  the  English  tongue, 
from  tlie  earliest  times  till  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  with  notices,  sometimes  brief,  sometimes  very 
full,  of  the  writers,  their  circumstances,  and  their  times. 
Our  Christian  Classics  is  a  work  fitted  to  fill  a  very  im- 
portant place  in  English  literature  for  a  long  time  to  come. 
It  was  a  well-timed  publication.  In  this  age  com- 
paratively few  can  possess  the  works  of  those  worthies 
in  bulk,  and  fewer  could  devote  the  time  and  atten- 
tion necessary  for  a  profitable  perusal  of  such  a  mass. 
It  was  necessary  that  a  competent  judge  should  make 
selections  and  introduce  the  authors.  This  has  been 
done  by  a  master's  hand,  and  it  will  probably  be  long  ere 
his  work  be  antiquated. 

"London,  Dec.  25,  1856. 
"  My  dear  William, —  ...  By  a  letter  from  Claydon 
yesterday  we  find  that  Lady  Verney  is  dying.  She  was 
at  our  November  communion,  and  spent  the  interval  with 
us,  full  of  the  happy  death  of  her  eldest  daughter,  who 
lias  only  preceded  her  to  heaven  by  two  months.  I  have 
hardly  ever  known  so  much  ability  in  a  lady,  yet 
thoroughly  simple,  feminine,  and  deeply  pious." 

FROM  SIR  HARRY  VERNEY. 

"  WooDHALL  Park,  Ware,  Jan.  31,  1857. 

"My  dear  Dr.  Hamilton, — I  know  that  you  will 
pardon  the  long  delay  which  has  intervened  since  you 
wrote  to  me  on  the  Cth.  Few  can  understand  better  than 
yourself  how  deep  is  the  affliction  that  has  fallen  upon 
me,  for  you  are  one  of  those  who  could   ajDpreciate  the 


470  LADY^  VEENEY. 

remarkable  and  varied  excellencies  of  her  wliom  I  have 
lost.  If  she  was  a  deliglitful  companion  to  her  friends 
— a  warm  and  able  advocate  of  the  cause  that  she  believed 
to  be  right — a  faithful  and  yet  compassionate  reprover  of 
sin — a  sympathizing  friend  of  the  distressed — a  wise 
mistress  to  servants  and  dependants — a  judicious  and 
affectionate  mother,  what  must  she  have  been  to  her  hus- 
band ?  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  she  was  a  tower  of  strength 
and  safety  on  which  I  leaned  for  twenty  years  and  a  half 
of  happy  married  life,  and  that  it  has  been  the  will  of  God 
to  strike  down  this  support,  in  order  that  I  should  lean 
upon  Him  alone.  You  knew  her  well  enough  to  be  aware 
that  that  is  what  she  did.  After  our  beloved  daughter's 
death  she  wrote  to  an  intimate  friend, — '  I  am  unequal  to 
the  commonplaces  of  life,  but  alone  with  my  Bible  and 
my  Saviour  I  enjoy  perfect  peace ;'  and  in  one  of  our  last 
conversations,  while  she  was  in  severe  bodily  suffering, 
and  when  her  delicate  and  sensitive  brain  was  beginning 
to  be  affected,  she  said  to  me, — '  What  would  it  be  if  I 
had  now  to  recollect  any  works  of  my  own,  or  anything 
belonging  to  myself  or  others,  I  cannot  even  think,  but  I 
can  rest  firmly  on  the  Eock  and  be  at  peace.'  I  expect 
about  ten  days  hence  to  be  settled  in  London,  in  a  small 
house  that  I  have  taken  for  my  daughter  and  myself, 
22  Eutland  Gate,  Hyde  Park,  She  is  something  like  her 
mother.  I  shall  venture  to  take  her  to  Euston  Square 
some  day,  to  introduce  her  to  Mrs.  Hamilton.  Thanking 
you,  my  dear  Dr.  Hamilton,  for  your  very  kind  recollection 
of  me,  and  for  your  assurance  of  sympathy  and  condolence, 
T  am,  your  very  faithful  and  obliged,    Harry  Yerney." 


DR.  HAMILTON'S  SERMONS.  471 

Here  occur  two  lively  and  cliaracteristic  letters — date  of 
the  first  uucertain — from  a  Wesleyan  minister,  distin- 
guished by  his  talents  as  well  as  by  his  name,  the  late 
Eev.  William  Bunting.  Besides  the  objective  interest  of 
the 'subjects  with  which  the  letters  deal,  there  is  great 
subjective  interest  in  observing  the  conta.ct  of  two  such 
minds  in  private,  familiar,  affectionate  correspondence. 

Incidentally,  it  appears  from  the  second  letter  that  the 
question  of  sacred  songs  for  use  in  public  worship  had,  at 
that  date,  already  deeply  engaged  Dr.  Hamilton's  atten- 
tion. Both  his  heart  and  his  judgment  are  in  this  work. 
He  laboured  patiently  in  this  cause  amongst  many  diffi- 
culties, and  was  found  still  labouring  in  it  when  he  was 
called  hence. 

*'  HiGHGATE  Rise,  Dec.  30. 

"My  deae  Fkiend, — Mr.  West,  according  to  his  and 
other  people's  wont  in  exigencies  of  this  kind,  asks  me 
first  to  direct  the  enclosed  note,  and  then  to  accompany  it 
by  a  little  impertinence  of  my  own.  Your  direction  I  do 
not  know,  and  therefore  trouble  Mr.  Nisbet.  In  my  own 
urgency  I  have  no  faith,  and  therefore  forbear  to  put  it 
forth.  All  I  will  say  is,  that  were  I  the  fabricator  and 
proprietor  of  a  little  library  of  MS.  sermons  such  as  yours, 
I  should  pray  for  life  and  leave  (out  of  my  own  pulpit,  if 
not  in  it)  to  preach  each  of  them  at  least  six  times  over. 
My  lips  would  '  rejoice'  in  the  very  utterance  of  my  own 
mind,  and  my  ear,  like  the  harper's,  lean  enamoured  on 
my  instrument.  If  you  wish,  then,  to  renew  your  enjoy- 
ment, as  well  as  to  extend  your  usefulness  (in  God's  own 
chosen  and  incomparable  way  of  lor caching),  unchain  and 


472  ORDINANCE  OF  PSALM-SINGING. 

liberate  your  gospel  from  yonder  palatial  court-yard  in 
Kegent  Square,  and  let  it  fly  in  tlie  midst  of  heaven, 
alighting,  if  you  please,  on  our  beautiful  temple  at  Liver- 
pool about  the  time  of  the  Passover. 

"  I  am,  was,  and  am  likely  to  be,  and  my  wife  the  same, 
yours,  Mrs.  Hamilton's,  and  your  dear  old  mother's,  ever 
affectionately,  W.  M.  Bunting." 

«  3 f arch  16,  1857. 

"Ever  since  Mr.  Chalmers  first  mentioned  to  me  the 
project  of  an  enlarged  supplement  to  your  psalms,  I  have 
felt  a  deep  interest  in  its  success.  I  don't  believe  you 
yourselves  (in  consequence  of  venerable  habits  and  pre- 
judices) are  yet  fully  alive  to  the  necessity  and  blessed- 
ness of  such  a  provision  for  your  much-awakened  con- 
oTesations,  as  a  vehicle  of  Evangehcal  'confession  with 
the  mouth  unto  salvation,'  and  as  in  response  to  such 
roch-smiting  ministrations  as  yours  of  yesterday  morning. 
I  could  have  loved  to  point  out  to  you,  before  it  was  too 
late,  a  few  of  Charles  Wesley's,  nor  of  his  alone,  of  the 
tender,  penitential,  petitionary,  or  promise-claiming,  or 
Christ-embracing  and  exalting  character  I  have  in  view. 

"  These  uninvited  hints  and  utterances — a  sort  of  umbrae 
at  your  study  table — may  bore,  but  I  can  scarcely  think  will 
offend  you.  I  hope  they  come  of  a  sincere  care  for  '  souls ' 
(welcome  poor  Maurice's  sarcasm  and  reproach),  from 
daily  and  intimately  communing  with  them  up  and  down 
the  country,  and  as  much  out  of  Methodism  as  within  it, 
and  from  some  emphatic  experience  of  the  blessing  brought 
to  afflicted  or  awakened  souls  by  a  judicious  administra- 
tion of  God's  precious  ordinance  of  iisalm-singing. 


PaCHAED  WILLIAMS.  473 

"  I  have  left  less  room  that  I  could  have  liked  to  thank 
you  for  Excelsior,  and  to  express  my  regret,  on  almost 
every  ground,  that  we  are  to  have  no  more  of  it.  I  have 
heard  it  praised,  sometimes  before  I  have  praised  it  my- 
self, extensively  among  our  people  ;  and  I  have  found  no 
book,  serial  or  otherwise,  more  handy  or  more  useful  for 
presentation  to  young  friends  of  my  own.  Your  own 
pulpit-contributions  to  it  were,  of  course,  always  para- 
mount in  interest  to  us — pleasant  as  Avas  the  science,  and 
truly  eclectic  the  poetry. 

"  For  Richard  Williams,  above  all,  I  feel  as  if  I  never 
can  appropriately  thank  you  in  time,  but  hope  to  glorify 
God  in  you  and  in  him  after  a  heavenly  manner,  and  with 
a  fervour  more  purely  pious  and  adoring,  if  I  should  be 
permitted  to  meet  you  both  in  the  better  land.  At  pre- 
sent I  cannot  subdue  a  feeling  of  disa^^pointment  and 
pain  (which  I  have  expressed  in  many  companies),  that 
the  Christian,  and  even  the  Wesleyan,  public  (as  far  as  I 
can  gather  from  curt  revie\vs  and  from  a  flagging  circula- 
tion) should  have  been  so  inadequately  affected  by  that 
wonderful  unfolding  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  wisdom,  gracious- 
ness,  and  energy,  in  the  experience  of  a  recent  convert, 
literally  'beside  himself  unto  God;'  and  by,  secondly, 
that  beautiful  example,  considering  the  country,  con- 
nexions, and  creed,  of  the  biographer  (I  mean  so  different 
from  those  of  the  mystical  English  Methodist)  of  a  truth- 
ful, tender,  reverential,  catholic,  and  wise  spirit  in  dealing 
with  these  marvels  of  His  grace.  As  uniting  deep  pathos 
with  profound  instruction  in  the  things  of  God,  I  have 
placed  Eichard  Williams  along  with  Hewitson  and  the 


474  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  FOR  SWEDEN. 

Convict  Ship,  in  tlie  inner  slirine  of  my  heart.     My  father 
lias  much  the  same  feeling  of  the  rare  value  of  that  book. 

"W.  M.  Bunting." 

FROM  AMOS  LAURENCE. 

"Boston,  United  States,  April  4:,  1857. 
"  Eev.  and  dear  Sir, — Your  last  year's  lecture  before 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  entitled  '  Literary 
Attractions  of  the  ■  Bible,'  was  handed  over  by  me  to  the 
Eev.  Seth  Bliss,  agent  in  this  city  for  the  American  Tract 
Society,  and  through  his  kind  attention  the  tract  was 
republished,  and  is  circulating  through  the  length  and 
breadth  of  our  whole  country,  and  is  doing  more,  I  think, 
to  make  the  Bible  common  reading  than  anything  lately 
published.  Mr.  Bliss  visits  Europe  at  this  season,  partly 
to  recruit  his  health,  and  partly  to  impart  information  and 
obtain  information  of  value  to  us  alL  May  I  ask  for  liim 
your  confidence,  and  thus  make  me  your  debtor  still 
deeper  than  at  present,  Amos  Laurence." 

FROM  PAULINE  WESLDAIIL,  A  SWEDISH  LADY. 

"  Birmingham,  May  30,  1857. 
"  My  DEAR  Sir, — Availing  myself  of  your  kind  allow- 
ance, I  feel  most  happy  to  take  up  my  pen  to  ask  you 
not  only  *  one  important'  question,  but  another  and  still 
another,  till  I  am  afraid  their  number  will  increase  just 
in  proportion  to  my  confidence.  When  leaving  my  own 
dear  country  for  another,  of  which  the  literature  in  gene- 
ral, and  its  sacred  in  particular,  has  become  most  dear  to 
myself,  I  felt  delighted  in  the  prospect  of  meeting  with 


CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  FOR  SWEDEN.  475 

an  author  to  whom  I  felt  especially  indebted ;  yet  it  was 
not  only  to  gi'atify  my  own  feelings,  but  still  more  for  the 
benefit  of  my  countrymen,  that  I  ventured  to  intrude  on  his 
most  precious  time  by  calling  and  asking  for  his  opinion 
as  to  the  choice  of  religious  writings  most  suitable  to 
be  introduced  to  the  educated  among  thepa.  Now,  my 
dear  sir,  considering  that  question  to  be  partly  answered 
by  The  Lamp  arid  the  Lantern  (for  the  translation  of 
which  I  am  just  preparing),  I  next  venture  to  ask  for 
your  highly- valued  advice  as  to  that  plan  of  mine  already 
hinted,  to  presenting  to  the  'nobles'  and  'high  cultivated' 
some  substantial  object  to  be  considered  in  the  very  light 
of  that  Lamjy,  viz.,  short  biographies  of  celebrated  indi- 
viduals, eminent  not  only  for  piety,  but  for  uniting  to  it 
science,  talent,  and  taste.  Nothing,  I  am  sure,  can  be  more 
seriously  wanted,  where  there  is  plenty  of  good  work 
going  on  for  the  spiritual  benefit  of  the  people,  but  very 
little  is  found,  indeed,  to  attract  that  '  nobility '  and  those 
'  high  cultivated,'  whose  views  in  the  light  of  the  Bible 
are  really  most  poor  and  wretched,  and  spiritually  w^ant- 
ing.  Having  been  myself  brought  up  among  them,  I  am 
able,  I  daresay,  to  judge  of  their  state  as  a  most  pitiful 
one ;  and  by  the  grace  of  the  Lord  my  heart  is  burning 
within  me  to  give  to  them  just  what  they  were  not  able 
to  give  to  me  !   .   .    ." 

"48  EusTON  Square,  Dec.  1,  1857. 

"My  dear  William,—  ...  On  Saturday  I  went 
down  to  Wigan  to  re-open  our  church  there,  and  got 
through  such  a  jolly  lot  of  reading  on  the  road,  going  and 
returning,  and  there,  nearly  the  half  of  South's  Sermons, 


•iTG  ROTATOEY  READING-ROOMS. 

and  no  end  of  collections  of  proverbs.  There  were  people 
in  the  train  both  ways  with  whom  I  might  have  been 
obliged  to  make  or  renew  acquaintance,  but  I  lay  perdu. 
Next  to  the  British  Museum  there  is  nothing  comparable 
to  these  rotatory  reading-rooms,  which  give  you  at  once 
fresh  air  and  uuinvaded  leisure." 

The  result  of  this  reading  in  collections  of  proverbs 
was  an  interesting  paper  on  the  subject  in  the  North 
British  Review,  February  1858. 


OHAPTEE   XI. 

1858-1863. 

"48  EusTON  Square,  Jane  18,  1858. 
"  Mx  DEAE  Andeew, —  .  .  .  Tliis  week  I  am  in  deep 
but  selfish  sorrow,  owing  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Pierce 
Seaman.  A  slight  and  painless  illness  ended  in  his 
exchanging  this  world  for  a  better  on  Sabbath  evening. 
He  was  in  some  respects  my  dearest  and  most  congenial 
friend.  Natural  sciences,  old  books,  the  successive  sea- 
sons, the  shrines  of  our  English  worthies, — we  went  into 
everything  much  the  same,  and  had  many  a  delightful  day 
together.  With  Christian  Classics  he  helped  me  greatly, 
and  I  had  always  on  hand  a  quantity  of  his  rare  old 
books.  On  Sabbath  se'nnight  I  was  at  Eochester,  preach- 
ing the  funeral  sermon  of  Dr.  Jenkyn,  late  of  Coward 
College,  and  last  Sabbath  I  was  at  Glasgow,  introducing 
to  Free  St.  James's  our  late  Chinese  missionary,  Mr. 
James  Johnston.  Last  Saturday  I  spent  at  Woodville, 
Morningside,  with  Miss  M.  Wilson,  and  your  old  play- 
fellow, her  cousin,  Henrietta.  I  have  undertaken  to  com- 
pile a  short  memoir  of  Mr.  James  Wilson.  He  was  a  fine 
character,  and  I  have  got  some  nice  materials.  Preaching 
in  Glasgow,  some  old  Strathblanians  came  up  to  me  after 


478  SCRIPTURE  BOTANY. 

the  service, — "Walter  Buclianan,  James  Wingate,  and 
'  Jimmy  Graham/  the  weaver.  This  last  I  had  not  seen 
for  thirty  years." 

"London,  Feb.  22,  1858. 
"  My  dear  William, —  ...  I  sympathize  with  your 
enjoyment  of  Motle3^  It  is  the  last  big  book  I  read 
through.  It  was  in  May  '5G,  when  I  had  the  luxury  of  a 
fortnight's  invalidism.  It  is  a  great  mercy  that  I  have 
never  once  been  unable  to  get  ready  my  monthly  quota 
for  the  printer  during  these  four  years  and  upwards. 
Beforehand  I  could  not  have  counted  on  such  unbroken 
health." 

"  London,  Feb.  25,  1858. 
"  To-day  I  have  been  writing  articles  for  Prof.  Fair- 
bairn's  Biblical  Dictionary,  beginning  at  the  beginning, 
tiU  now  I  have  nothing  in  my  head  but  almonds  and 
apples,  aloes  and  algum-trees.  My  heart  rather  fails 
wlien  I  think  of  going  through  the  whole  alphabet." 

He  contributed  all  the  botanical  articles  in  that  im- 
portant work. 

"48  EusTON  Square,  May  1,  1858. 

"  My  dear  Andrew,—  .  .  .  This  winter  has  brought 
out  a  good  many  books,  of  which  the  rumour  sometimes 
reaches  me,  but  I  have  had  no  chance  to  read  them — 
Fronde's  History  of  Henry  viii.  (a  vindication),  Cardinal 
Wiseman's  Recollections  of  the  last  Four  Popes,  Hogg's  Life 
of  Shelley,  young  Buckland's  Recreations  in  Natural  His- 
tory. But  even  my  old  refuge,  the  omnibus,  is  no  longer 
a  reading-room.     I  have  to  take  into  it  proof-sheets,  or 


MRS.  HAMILTON  ABROAD.  470 

old  volumes  of  divinity,  to  read  up  for  my  Christian 
Classics.  I  have  reached  the  silk- worm's  spinning  stage 
— sheer  straightforward  production,  with  a  farewell  to  all 
the  earlier  joys  of  feasting  and  digesting.  This  1st  of 
May  reminds  me  of  it  pathetically,  when  we  used  to  get 
back  to  the  green  pastures.  I  usually  read  .thirty  or  forty 
volumes  every  summer." 

This  season  it  became  necessary  that  Mrs.  Hamilton 
and  one  of  the  children  should  proceed  to  the  baths  at 
Spa  for  the  benefit  of  their  health,  but  his  engagements  at 
home  rendered  it  impossible  that  he  should  accompany 
them.  Mrs.  Hamilton,  in  company  with  Mrs.  M'Laren,  a 
very  affectionate  friend,  similarly  situated  with  herself, 
accomplished  the  journey  in  safety,  took  the  baths  with 
much  benefit,  and  in  due  time  returned.  In  the  mean- 
time the  absence  of  his  wife  became  the  occasion  of  a  very 
lively  correspondence : — 

"  Clevedon,  June  9,  1858,  4  p.m. 

"  My  deaeest  Annie, — Here  1  am  in  safety,  without  any 
particular  incident.  Very  warm  ride,  till  Somersetshire, 
where  it  is  both  bright  and  breezy.  I  hope  it  will  be  as 
good  a  day  to-morrow.  I  shall  be  anxious  to  hear  of  your 
voyage, — for  that  is  to  my  imagination  the  only  disagree- 
able feature  of  the  journey.  I  look  upon  this  opportunity 
for  you  as  a  most  kind  and  happy  Providence. 

"  As  an  additional  therapeutic  influence,  I  would  gladly 
have  superadded  my  agreeable  society,  but  as  that  cannot 
be,  I  shall  keep  you  company  in  thought  and  good  wishes 
and  prayers.     I  know  that  you  would  have  liked  to  have 


480  A  BRIGHT  SUMMER. 

me  to  the  bargain,  but  (with  that  exception)  could  there 
have  been  a  nicer  arrangement?  Even  tlie  Passover  was 
to  be  eaten  with  bitter  herbs,  and  all  our  mercies  here 
must  liave  a  small  abatement ,  but  our  happiness,  and  a 
great  deal  of  our  duty  to  God — our  piety — consists  in  be- 
ing very  thankful  and  hopeful  and  cheerful  if,  on  the 
whole,  we  have  more  good  than  evil.  There 's  a  sermon 
Mdthout  intending  one. 

"  My  beloved  Annie,  you  will  make  me  happy  by  en- 
joying yourself  to  the  utmost.  This  is  your  business  at 
Spa,  to  ride  on  donkeys,  and  drink  iron,  and  wear  a  broad 
brim,  and  laugh  as  much  as  you  can,  and  come  back,  you 
and  Marisabel,  as  broad  as  you  are  long,  and  as  brown  as 
the  iron  baths  themselves.  The  good  Lord  go  with  you, 
aiid  keep  you  and  your  kind  fellow-travellers  in  all  your 
ways. — ^Your  ever  affectionate  husband, 

"  James  Hamilton." 

"48  EusTON  Square,  London, 
June  15,  1858. 
"  Started  on  Friday  morning  at  eight  from  Bristol  for 
Edinburgh  by  way  of  Birmingham,  and  got  to  Alva  Street 
at  half-past  ten.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  radiance  of 
summer  life  all  along  the  route ;  white  mounds  and  red  of 
blossomed  May;  the  golden  laburnum  lamps  in  their 
green  pavilions.  Then,  close  to  the  line  a  perfect  snow  of 
ox-eye  daisies,  or  a  long  yellow  flash  of  unbroken  broom, 
with  hay  and  l3ean-field  whiffs  ever  and  anon  wafted  in. 
Should  this  be  my  last  summer  on  the  earth,  I  think  I 
could  testify  elsewhere  that  I  had  never  in  my  day  known 
it  come  so  near  to  Paradise.     On  Saturday  morning   I 


FUNERAL  OF  DPv.  BUNTING.  481 

went  out  to  Woodville,  where  Dr.  Greville  kindly  came  to 
meet  me,  and  spent  the  day  till  lunch  looking  over  dear 
James  Wilson's  papers,  and  talking  with  his  niece  and 
daughter.  A  very  pleasant  retreat  is  Woodville,  with  its 
shade  and  its  singing  birds, — a  fit  home  for  a  naturalist." 

"48  EusTON  Square,  London, 
June  23,  1858. 
"  Yesterday  was  Dr.  Bunting's  funeral.  It  took  place  in 
the  City  Eoad  Chapel,  beside  the  graves  of  Wesley,  Flet- 
cher, Benson,  Adam  Clarke,  Packard  Watson,  and  all  the 
renowned  fathers  of  Wesleyan  Methodism,  among  whom 
there  was  none  greater  than  Jabez  Bunting, — none  who 
combined  so  well  the  preacher,  the  Christian  statesman, 
and  the  man  of  God.  It  was  a  long  service.  One  prayer 
occupied  fifty  minutes  (even  in  Scotland  I  never  knew 
anythiug  to  match  it).  But  an  address  by  Dr.  Leifchild 
was  very  affecting.  He  is  seventy-eight,  and  Dr.  Bunting- 
was  eighty  ;  and  now  the  friendship  of  liaK  a  century  is 
dissolved  for  a  little  while — but  only  for  a  little.  The 
most  impressive  part  of  the  service  was  the  singing  of 
these  two  verses, — 

'  0  tliat  each  in  the  day  of  liis  coming  may  say, 
' '  I  have  fought  my  way  through  ; 
I  have  finished  the  worli  Thou  didst  give  me  to  do." 

0  that  each  from  his  Lord  may  receive  the  glad  word, 

"  Well  and  faithfully  done  ! 
Enter  into  My  joy  and  sit  down  on  My  throne."  ' 

I  left  this  at  half-past  ten  and  was  not  home  again  till 
five.     I  should  add  that  there  was  an  excellent  sketch  of 

2  II 


482         PROFESSOR  OF  ELOCUTION. 

the  venerable  worthy  by  Mr.  Scott.  The  chapel  was 
crowded.  I  hope  William  Bunting  will  write  a  life  of  his 
father.  It  would  be  a  far  worthier  employment  for  a 
coming  year  or  two,  than  those  numberless  good-natured 
services  on  which  he  disperses  all  his  exquisite  taste  and 
great  abilities.  The  writing  long  letters  of  comfort  to  in- 
consolable, because  dyspeptic,  correspondents  ;  the  editing 
of  books  for  people  wlio  are  anxious  to  pubhsli  without 
being  able  to  write,  inditing  poems  for  albums,  and  all  that 
sort  of  thing,  by  which  the  devil  under  false  pretences 
cheats  clever  but  kind-hearted  men  out  of  the  time  which 
was  given  them  for  serving  God  and  their  generation.  I 
told  him  something  of  this  yesterday,  and  he  retorted  by 
telling  me  that  I  was  meant  to  be  a  preacher,  and  had 
gone  aside  into  authorship.  If  I  could  persuade  myself 
that  I  am  as  well  adapted  for  speaking  as  writing,  I  would 
even  yet  abjure  the  press  for  the  pulpit.  But  what  with 
weakness,  nervousness,  an  ungainly  manner,  and  inability 
to  rely  on  myself,  I  hardly  think  so." 

Somewhere  about  this  date,  while  assisting  him  for  a 
week  or  two  in  his  ministry,  and  enjoying  the  hospitality 
of  his  house,  I  incidentally  learned  that  he  had  paid  a  fee 
of  five  guineas  to  an  American  Professor  of  Elocution,  and 
was  diligently  submitting  to  drill  with  the  view  of  im- 
proving his  articulation,  and  the  modulation  of  his  voice. 
One  evening  while  we  were  engaged  in  conversation,  at 
the  ringing  of  the  door-bell  he  suddenly  started  to  his 
feet,  and  delivering  his  apology  with  a  combination  of 
look    and    gesture    altogether    peculiar  to    himself, — an 


EFFORTS  TO  OVERCOME  DEFECTS.  483 

earnest  purpose  underneath,  and  a  cliild-like  comic  smile 
mantling  over  it, — tripped  with  a  hop,  step,  and  jump 
away  to  his  lesson.  Under  cover  of  a  lightsome,  spark- 
ling, humorous  evolution  he  betook  himself  to  serious 
work,  that,  if  it  were  possible,  he  might  acquire,  on  one 
side,  additional  power  to  serve  the  Lord  and  edify  his 
congregation. 

Alas  !  it  was  an  unequal  conflict  against  a  defect  that 
lay  in  his  constitution.  It  was  a  sj^irit  at  once  conse- 
crated and  buoyant,  contending  against  the  weakness  of 
his  physical  frame.  Nor  was  it  the  case  of  a  man  who 
was  blind  to  his  own  deficiency,  because  it  was  his  own  ; 
he  was  well  aware  of  the  physical  feebleness,  but  he  did 
not  fold  his  hands  and  yield  to  it  as  inevitable.  He  never 
took  refuge  in  the  sluggard's  plea.  At  a  comparatively 
advanced  age  he  went  to  school  again  with  the  humility 
as  well  as  pliability  of  a  little  child,  on  the  presenta- 
tion of  a  dim  possibility  that  his  power  of  delivering  a 
message  to  a  large  assembly  might  yet  be  somewhat  in- 
creased. 

In  connexion  with  the  lack  of  muscular  power  in  those 
organs  on  wdiich  oratory  mainly  depends,  it  is  interesting 
to  notice  his  experience  as  recorded  by  himself,  that  he 
was  always  in  a  glow  of  happiness  at  his  study  on  Satur- 
day,— but  that  this  brightness  almost  uniformly  gave  way 
to  a  measure  of  despondency  during  the  actual  ministra- 
tions of  the  Sabbath.  In  the  one  department,  he  was 
strong;  and  the  strong  man,  as  usual,  rejoiced  in  his 
strength ;  in  the  other  department  he  was  comparatively 
weak,  and  consequently  was  grieved  with  what  he  ac- 


484  DR.  HAMILTON  AS  A  PEEACHER. 

couuted  partial  failure.  In  mental  resources  and  acquire- 
ments lie  was  possessed  of  great  wealth;  but  in  the 
capacity  to  utter  liis  thoughts,  with  all  the  variation  of 
tone  and  key  which  their  nature  required,  yet  so  as  to  be 
throughly  heard  in  a  great  edifice,  he  was  far  less  gifted. 
In  this  department,  accordingly,  he  was  always  pained  by 
a  conscious  shortcoming  from  his  own  ideal.  It  is  cer- 
tain tliat  lack  of  vocal  force,  and  ready  control  over  his 
intonations,  largely  detracted  from  the  power  and  popu- 
larity of  his  preaching.  It  is  the  belief  of  the  most  in- 
telligent observers  that  if  his  enunciation  had  been  in 
force  and  fineness  equal  to  that  of  some  who  were  con- 
fessedly far  behind  him  in  mental  gifts,  he  would  have 
been  one  of  the  most  attractive  preachers  of  the  day.  In 
delicacy  of  conception,  in  the  happy  choice  of  idioms,  in 
the  command  of  striking  and  original  imagery,  and  in  the 
glow  of  evangelical  fervour  that  pervaded  all,  he  had  few 
equals.  Tliese  rare  qualities,  however,  were  shorn  of  half 
their  strength,  in  as  far  as  his  public  preaching  was  con- 
cerned, by  the  necessity  under  which  he  constantly  lay 
of  straining  to  make  himself  audible,  by  standing  on  his 
tip-toes,  and  throwing  out  his  words  in  handfuls,  if  so  be 
they  might  reach  the  far-distant  aisles.  If  the  muscles 
of  his  chest  had  been  such  as  to  enable  him  to  stand 
solidly  at  ease,  while  his  lips  performed  the  task  of  arti- 
culation without  the  aid  of  auxiliary  blasts  from  over- 
inflated  lungs,  James  Hamilton  would  certainly  have 
been  followed  by  greater  crowds,  and  obtained  access  for 
his  message  to  a  wider  and  more  varied  circle.  But  we 
do  not  know  what  countcr-balancinu;   evil   mi.Li,lit  have 


FRUITS.  485 

come  in  alone;  with  such  external  success,  Altlioiisiifli 
with  all  his  prayers  and  pains  this  thorn  was  still  left 
in  the  flesh,  the  grand  compensation  remained  :  "  My  grace 
is  sufficient  for  thee ;  My  strength  is  perfect  in  thy  weak- 
ness." V/hat  talents  the  Lord  saw  meet  to  bestow,  he 
laid  out  with  marvellous  skill  and  diligence"  in  the  Giver's 
service ;  and  if  some  other  talents  were  withheld,  the 
Withholder  knows  why.     He  hath  done  all  things  well. 

On  the  whole,  James  Hamilton,  as  a  preacher,  was  to 
a  large  extent  the  reverse  of  the  class  whose  delivery 
hides  the  defects  and  sets  off  the  good  qualities  of  common- 
place thought ;  it  was  the  thought,  at  once  solid  and  spark- 
ling, that  caught  and  carried  the  audience  away  in  a  rush, 
in  spite  of  a  considerable  tendency  to  jolting  in  the  vocal 
vehicle  that  bore  it. 

TO  ins  WIFE. 

"  4S  EusToisr  Square,  June  15,  1858. 
"...  Coming  in  afterwards  with  Mr.  Henderson  of 
Claremont  Chapel,  he  mentioned  an  instance  of  tlie  use- 
fulness of  Life  in  Earnest,  which  I  was  very  thankful  to 
hear.  When  it  first  came  out  he  was  acquainted  with  a 
very  clever  young  lady,  a  Miss  G — ,  at  K —  in  Ireland ; 
but  she  was  quite  careless  and  thoughtless.  She  was 
a  great  reader  of  novels.  Mr.  Henderson  asked  her  if 
she  would  not  read  a  religious  book,  if  he  were  to  lend 
her  one  ?  She  said,  No,  she  could  not  read  such  books, 
they  were  so  dull.  He  said  that  she  was  quite  mistaken ; 
that  some  of  them  contained  a  great  deal  of  tlie  poetry 
and  description  that  she  was  so  fond  of ;  and  he  repeated 


■iSG  REMlNiSCENCE  OF  A  BEIGHT  SEASON. 

to  her  two  passages  which  he  had  committed  to  memory 
out  of  the  first  lecture  in  Life  in  Earnest.  She  said  at 
.  once  that  if  he  would  lend  it,  she  would  read  that  book. 
She  did  read  it,  and  from  one  thing  to  another  there  came 
an  entire  change  over  her  pursuits.  She  became  a  de- 
cided Christian,  and  is  now  married  to  a  husband  like- 
minded  ;  she  has  wi-itten  a  number  of  attractive  papers 
in  Household  ^Yords  and  other  periodicals." 

"  4  Archery  Villas,  St.  Leonard's, 
Sept.  1858. 

"I  can  recollect  the  summer  of  182G,  with  its  profusion 
of  sunshine  and  its  long,  long  weeks  of  cloudless  weather, 
drying  up  at  last  the  burn  at  Strathblane,  and  leaving  the 
trout  in  isolated  pools  to  the  mercy  of  the  crows  and  school- 
boys. Night  after  night  we  lay  down  independent  of 
blankets ;  and  morning  after  morning  rose  up  relying  on 
the  returning  of  the  sunshine.  That  season  has  made  an 
indelible  impression  on  my  memory,  and  promises  to  be 
'  a  joy  for  ever.'  It  was  amidst  its  light  and  heat  that  the 
poetic  temperament  of  Eobert  PoUok  culminated,  and  that, 
little  suspected  by  his  prosaic  neighbours,  he  was  com- 
pleting the  Course  of  Time  on  the  hills  of  his  native 
Eenfrewshire.  This  season  has  not  been  less  wonderful. 
In  the  end  of  May  and  beginning  of  June  there  was  a 
profusion  of  blossom  such  as  I  have  never  witnessed ;  and 
since  then,  with  the  occasional  interruption  of  a  refreshful 
shower,  there  has  been  no  break  in  the  brightness  of  the 
atmosphere,  but  the  evenings  have  been  so  enchanting 
that  it  was  a  hardship  to  go  to  bed,  and  the  mornings  so 


DEATH  OF  DAVID  SANDEMAN.         48  / 

dazzling  that  it  seemed  a  sin  to  lie  still.  Even  London 
felt  the  influence,  and  many  a  time  I  felt  as  if  Euston 
Square  were  perfectly  beautiful.  But  it  was  our  happiness 
to  spend  six  weeks  at  Iladleigh  ;  from  the  loth  of  June 
to  the  25th  of  July,  and  the  last  fortnight  here.  Towards 
this  place  I  have  always  a  homeward  feeling,  and  Hadleigh 
was  made  unusually  pleasant  by  the  society  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  M'Laren,  who,  in  kindness,  intelligence,  and  con- 
geniality of  taste,  are  all  that  I  could  wish  friends  to  be. 
And  now  that  the  wonderful  spring  has  rushed  into  an 
autumn  of  unwonted  profusion,  with  wife  and  children 
well,  with  health  better  than  it  has  been  for  many  years, 
and  with  some  indications  of  a  blessing  on  the  ministry, 
I  feel  that,  if  I  were  now  called  away,  it  would  be  from 
the  very  zenith  of  earthly  happiness.  I  can  never  hope 
to  see  a  lovelier  season  than  the  summer  now  ended.  I 
dare  not  ask  for  greater  mercies  than  the  Giver  of  all  good 
is  at  this  moment  bestowing. 

"  My  holiday  has  lasted  forty  days.  Besides  writing- 
two  sermons,  I  have  prepared  for  the  press  two  numbers 
of  Chi'istian  Classics,  a  series  of  papers  on  the  Psalms  for 
the  Sunday  at  Home,  and  new  editions  of  the  Royal 
Preacher  and  EmUems  from  Eden.  My  reading  has  been 
of  a  very  easy  kind." 

The  course  of  the  devoted  Sandeman  on  the  mission 
field  was  short.  His  spirit  brought  and  kept  earth  near 
to  heaven  while  life  lasted,  and  it  pleased  the  Lord  soon 
to  blot  out  the  little  interval  that  remained,  and  take  him 
altogether  home.     Dr.  Hamilton  writes  to  his  sister  : — ■ 


488         CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MISSIONARY, 

"48  EusTox  Square,  London, 
Oct.  6,  1858. 

"  My  DEAR  Mrs.  Baebour, — Your  beloved  brother  was 
so  much  more  a  citizen  of  lieaven  than  of  earth,  that  I 
cannot  think  your  feeling  at  his  translation  will  be  like 
the  common  kinds  of  sorrow.  At  least  after  the  first 
consternation  of  the  unlooked-for  tidings,  the  prevailing 
feeling  with  myself  Avas  thankfulness  for  his  abundant 
entrance  into  the  glorious  kingdom.  I  have  hardly  ever 
seen  any  one  with  whom  it  was  more  entirely  '  to  live  is 
Christ.'  Bright,  happy,  and  full  of  love,  his  career  seemed 
always  to  be  '  from  strength  still  forward  unto  strength ;' 
and  at  the  last  stage  of  all  it  is  delightful  to  know  how 
entirely  death  was  swallowed  up  in  victory.  No  one 
could  have  his  own  affections  less  set  on  the  things  of 
earth,  and  yet  no  one  drew  more  affection  towards  him- 
self. In  his  short  stay  here  he  gained  all  hearts.  On  the 
day  that  he  went  away  he  went  doAvn  to  the  kitchen  and 
took  leave  of  the  servants,  spoke  to  them  a  few  kind  and 
earnest  words,  and  gave  each  of  them  a  book.  They  are 
still  with  us ;  and  when  at  family  worship  on  Monday 
morning  I  read  the  letter  from  Amoy,  they  all  were 
weeping — children,  servants,  and  all.  To  the  little  Chris- 
tina (whom  he  would  oioi  baptize)  he  left  a  beautiful 
Bible,  which  is  now  very  sacred.  ]\Irs.  Hamilton  keeps 
it  as  he  left  it,  in  the  papers  addressed  by  his  own 
hand.  I  hope  the  prayers  will  be  answered  which  he 
offered  for  her.  I  do  not  think  we  can  call  the  dispensa- 
tion a  dark  one.  lie  wished  to  serve  Christ,  and  he  is 
promoted  to  higher   service  than  he  hoped  for ;   and  he 


AND  CONSOLATION  TO  HIS  MOTHER.  489 

wished  to  benefit  China ;  and  the  affecting  circumstances 
of  his  death  are  likely  to  awaken  more  interest,  and  I 
would  even  expect  are  likely  to  draw  out  more  mis- 
sionaries, than  any  living  appeal  could  have  done.  Even 
his  dear  and  much-tried  mother,  towards  whom  so  much 
sympathy  now  turns, — the  Comforter  vnll  su'stain  her  ;  and 
where  the  hope  is  so  full  of  immortality,  it  is  less  of  a 
separation  than  what  took  place  when  he  set  out  from 
home  two  years  ago.  With  affectionate  regards  to  Mr. 
Barbour,  and  with  many  tender  but  pleasant  memories  of 
his  last  visit  to  London,  I  remain,  dear  Mrs.  Barbour, 
most  truly  yours,  James  Hamilton." 

TO  HIS  WIFE. 

"  CouNTy  {I.e.,  Eail-\vay)  Hotel, 
Carlisle,  Jan.  10,  1859. 
"Yesterday  morning  I  got  up  at  six,  and  finished  a 
sermon  on  '  Take  no  thought  for  the  morrow.'  Having  a 
very  deep  root  of  melancholy  in  my  nature,  I  am  fond  of 
such  subjects,  for  then  I  preach  sermons  useful  to  myself 
With  a  most  clear  and  joyful  confidence  in  the  wisdom 
and  love  of  Him  who  '  doeth  all  things  well,'  I  am  con- 
stantly haunted  with  special  anxieties  or  obscure  mis- 
givings and  depressions.  And  so  I  feel  sometimes  the 
better  for  such  a  sermon  as  yesterday's.  Professor  Leone 
Levi  came  to  dinner  (^Irs.  Levi  has  lost  her  mother),  and 
so  did  Dr.  De  la  Porte  from  Swatow.  After  half-an-hour's 
sleep  I  went  and  saw  Mr.  Hill,  who  has  rallied  a  little ; 
then  came  home  and  finished  my  lecture  for  the  evening 
on  China.     Delivered  it ;  had  supper  witli  Annie  and  her 


490  DEPARTED  JOYS. 

cousin  ;  tlien  to  sleep.  The  incident  of  this  day's  journey- 
was  a  wonderful  sunset.  We  had  reached  Kendal  when 
it  bescan.  The  mountains  of  Westmoreland  and  Cumber- 
land  were  covered  with  clouds  very  solid  and  massive- 
looking  ;  above  was  open  sky,  filmed  over  with  flo.kes  of 
vapour  and  fleecy  stragglers.  This  upper  portion  was 
every  tint  of  glory,  from  saffron  to  the  rosiest  red ;  below 
it  looked  as  if  immense  piles  of  snow  were  drenched  with 
port  wine,  or  some  rich  empurpling  colour,  which  intensi- 
fied as  it  receded  from  the  centre  of  beauty,  and  became 
inky  black  to  the  northward." 

"WooDviLLE,  Edinburgh,  Jan.  14,  1859. 
"  My  dear  Annie, — Yesterday  I  paid  a  good  many 
visits,  and  heard  Professor  Aytoun  give  a  lecture  to  his 
rhetoric  class.  The  subject  was  'Virgil,'  and  was  one  of 
the  greatest  treats  I  have  ever  enjoyed,  reminding  me, 
however,  of  'departed  joys,  departed  never  to  return.' 
But  I  need  not  grudge  them.  Classical  enjoyments 
are  not  the  greatest  after  all.  In  the  evening  there 
was  a  dinner-party  here.  Professor  George  Wilson,  Pro- 
fessor Eraser  and  his  wife,  and  a  few  others.  But  I  had 
to  leave  them  in  the  middle,  and  go  and  address  a  prayer- 
meeting  on  behalf  of  China  at  St.  Luke's. 

"48  EusTON  Squake,  Jan.  .31,  1859. 

"  My  deak  Andhew, — jNIy  visit  to  Scotland  was  a  short 
one.  I  left  this  on  INIonday,  Jan.  10,  spent  Tuesday  at 
Jardine  Hall,  Dumfries-shire  (Sir  AVm.  Jardine's),  and  the 
three  following  da3^s  at  Woodville. 


REV.  DR.  STEANE.  491 

"  I  have  just  finished  off  a  variety  of  little  literary  jobs, 
and  to-day  I  begin  James  Wilson  in  earnest.  After  that 
I  fondly  hope  to  escape  from  further  work  of  the  kind  for 
a  long  time  to  come.  I  am  tired  of  task-work.  What 
with  tlie  Presbyterian  Messenger,  Excelsior,  and  Christian 
Classics,  I  have  had  a  monthly  periodical  in  hand  for  the 
last  eight  years,  and,  superadded  to  my  weekly  prepara- 
tions, it  leaves  no  leisure  for  my  dearly  loved  Dutch,  and 
for  books  which  I  am  burning  to  read." 

FROM  DE.  STEANE. 

"  Camberwell,  Jul  If  5,  1S59. 

"  Dear  Dr.  Hamilton, — Wliat  can  I  do  to  minister  to 
your  comfort  next  Lord's  day,  when  you  are  to  preach  for 
my  colleague  ?  Will  you  come  and  dine  with  us  ?  Will 
you  come  after  dinner  and  take  a  cup  of  tea  ?  Will  you 
like  a  quiet  hour  in  my  library  before  going  to  the  pulpit  ? 
Will  you  bring  Mrs.  Hamilton  with  you,  and  afford  us  the 
pleasure  of  her  company  as  well  as  of  yom'  own  ?  AVill 
you  come  and  take  a  turn  in  my  garden  after  the  services 
of  the  day  are  over,  and  then  a  family  meal, — of  all  meals 
on  the  Sabbath  to  me  the  most  enjoyable,  witli  a  friend  ? 
When,  let  me  speak  it  reverently,  '  the  burden  of  the 
Lord'  has  been  delivered,  and  the  solemn  responsibility 
has  been  discharged,  however  inadequately,  the  mind  re- 
laxes, and  the  heart  dilates  and  becomes  at  once  receptive 
and  communicative,  and  so  tries  to  give  pleasure,  and  is 
sure  to  receive  it.  In  short,  only  feel  that  for  the  occa- 
sion my  house  will  be  what  my  heart  always  is,  ready  and 
delighted  to  welcome  you,  and  to  render  you  any  service 


492      RENOVATION  OF  REGENT  SQUARE. 

in  its  owner's  power.  We  all  unite  in  kindest  regards  to 
you  both ;  and  believe  me,  dear  Dr.  Hamilton,  yours  in 
Christian  brotlierliood,  Edwaed  Steane. 

" P.S. — Let  me  allure  you  by  just  adding  that  'the 
Englishwoman  in  America '  will  be  my  guest,  and  that  I 
should  rejoice,  if  you  do  not  know  each  other  already, 
that  you  should  meet  here." 

The  project  of  acquiring  and  repairing  Eegent  Square 
Church  is  ripening  now  : — 

TO  MK.  WATSON. 

"Baenakd's  Gkeen,  Grkat  Malverm, 
Aug.  5,  1859. 
"  j\Iy  dear  Feiend, — I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  I  am 
obliged  to  you  for  seeing  jSIr.  Gibson  on  ]\Ionday,  and 
bringing  matters  to  a  point.  I  was  really  coming  to  fear 
that  we  should  need  to  spend  another  winter  as  we  are  ; 
and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  I  quelled  an  inward  revolt 
and  rebellion,  and  brought  myseK  to  feel  that  I  could 
acquiesce,  if  needful,  in  that  most  undesirable  alternative. 
Perhaps  I  am  to  blame  in  not  doing  more  personally  to 
accelerate  matters  ;  but  besides  an  anxiety  to  keep  step 
with  others,  and  not  seem  to  outrun  more  cautious  and 
deliberate  brethren,  I  have  felt  (not  this  summer  only, 
but  all  these  eight  years)  a  delicacy  in  urging  forward  a 
consummation  in  which  my  own  comfort  and  advantage 
were  so  much  concerned." 

"Barnard'.s  Green,  August  10,  1859. 

"  My  deah  Friend, — "Whether  or  not  1  entered  into  an 
actual  covenant  with  the  Session  not  to  preach  during  this 


PETITION  FOR  LIBERTY  TO  WORK.  493 

holiday,  I  have  erred  on  the  safe  side,  and  have  refused 
very  many  applications.  Bat  there  are  two  (or  rather 
three)  cases  for  which  I  incline  to  ask  a  dispensation  : — 

"  1.  Mr.  Turner,  whose  httle  chapel  we  attend,  a  vener- 
able man  of  God,  who  originated  all  the  good  that  has 
been  done  in  this  neighbourhood, — his  anniversary  is  in 
the  end  of  this  month,  and  he  has  begged  a  week-day  ser- 
mon. Lady  Pirie  tells  me  his  income  is  about  £70  a  year, 
and  as  a  good  deal  of  this  depends  on  the  anniversary,  I 
would  gladly  help  him  if  I  could. 

"  2  and  3.  Our  friends  the  Gunns  of  Warminster  (Mrs. 
Gunn  was  a  Miss  Wills)  want  us  to  visit  them,  and  wish 
me  to  baptize  a  httle  Gunn,  w]\o  is  to  be  named  after  me. 
Now  it  would  be  very  ungracious  to  refuse,  and  if  I  do 
this,  I  do  not  see  how  I  can  refuse  a  request  from  my  old 
friends  of  the  Bristol  Tabernacle  to  preach  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society  sermon  during  that  visit.  I  have  a  warm 
side  to  Bristol,  where,  in  my  early  days,  I  met  with  much 
kindness,  and  where  a  goodly  measure  of  the  right  spirit 
still  survives  from  the  days  of  Thorpe,  Hall,  and  Eyland. 

"  Now  you  will  see  some  of  the  fathers  and  brethren 
to-morrow  evenins;.  Beg"  of  them  to  take  the  foresoiuG: 
into  their  favourable  consideration,  and  please  to  communi- 
cate the  result,  that  I  may  relieve  from  their  painful  sus- 
pense my  esteemed  correspondents. — BeHeve  me,  ever 
affectionately  yours,  J.  Hamilton." 

"Barnard's  Green,  Great  Malvern, 
August  13,  1859. 
"  We  usually  draw  off  the  water  from  the  fish-tank  with 
a  syphon,  which  will  be  found  under  the  tank.     But  if 


494  ILLNESS  OF  HIS  SON. 

Janet  is  not  np  to  the  manipulation  of  the  syphon,  it  will 
be  quite  enough  to  ladle  off  with  a  cup  or  jug  a  pailful  of 
water  once  a  week,  and  replace  it  with  fresh  water.  The 
carp  and  gold-fishes  will  eat  fine  crumbs  of  bread,  but  they 
will  also  make  shift  without  them.  The  roach  will  be 
very  thankful  for  a  few  flies.  He  is  the  only  one  who  is 
afflicted  with  fierceness  of  appetite. 

"  Payson's  works  will  be  a  great  acquisition,  and  if  you 
will  kindly  forward  them  to  Euston  Square,  I  shall  carry 
them  off  on  the  next  occasion.  It  is  a  book  I  should  like 
to  possess,  for  from  the  feelings  with  which  I  read  his  Life 
five-and-twenty  years  ago,  there  is  an  interest  in  all  he 
wrote.  But  those  sermons  which  I  have  read  are  not  so 
striking  as  one  would  have  expected." 

"  Baknard's  Green,  August  15,  1859. 
"  My  deae  Friend, — Our  poor  boy's  illness  turns  out 
(as  I  inwardly  feared  from  the  first)  diphtheria  of  a  very 
formidable  kind.  Yesterday  we  were  obliged  to  remove 
the  others  to  lodgings  in  the  town,  and  although  the  fever 
is  much  abated,  the  state  of  the  throat  is  very  bad.  We 
have  a  most  kind  medical  attendant  in  Dr.  Grindrod ;  it 
is  a  great  comfort  to  have  our  own  servants  with  us  ;  an- 
other comfort  to  have  Lady  Pirie  so  near ;  but  the  greatest 
comfort  of  all  is,  that  the  dear  child  is  in  the  hands  of  One 
who  loves  him  better  than  ourselves.  Although  she  has 
had  nearly  three  days  and  nights  of  exertion  witliout 
sleep,  poor  Annie  holds  out, — for  she  is  held  up.  We  have 
been  enabled  to  give  him  completely  up  to  God's  own  wise 
and  holy  will,  and  through  His  own  great  mercy  have  been 


"MOSES,  THE  MAN  OF  GOD."  495 

kept  from  rebellious  thouglits.     At  a  time  like  this,  His 
consolations  are  unspeakably  precious. 

"  I  know  bow  mucb  your  own  and  dear  ]\Irs.  Watson's 
hearts  are  with  us,  and  that  we  shall  have  your  prayers  for 
help  in  time  of  need. — Your  ever  affectionate, 

"  J.'  Hamilton." 

To  Mr.  Arnot  he  writes  on  Sept.  IG,  1859  :— "Towards 
Palestine  I  have  no  propension.  I  have  read  about  it 
so  much,  and  have  seen  it  through  so  many  eyes  better 
than  my  own,  that  I  should  hope  nothing  from  actual 
survey." 

"48  EusTON  Square,  Oct.  21,  1859. 

"  My  dear  WiLLTAi\r,— To-day  we  have  been  three  weeks 
at  home.  I  have  begun  a  course  of  lectures  on  Sabbath 
evening  on  the  History  of  ]\Ioses.  This  necessitates  me 
to  prepare  two  discourses ;  and  as  the  lecture  on  Moses 
takes  me  three  days  to  study,  I  find  myself  up  to  the  full- 
pressure  point." 

TO  EEV.  11.  M.  GUNN. 

"  London,  Nov.  7,  1859. 
"  My  dear  Mr.  Gunn,— Five  weeks  (including  six  Sab- 
baths) have  fled  away  since  we  took  leave  of  Wiltshire, 
with  its  breezy  downs  and  its  beloved  friends.  You  will 
now  have  a  little  more  leisure  for  your  studies,  without 
the  daily  interruption  of  your  idle  neighbours,  and  we  try 
to  console  ourselves  for  our  banishment  back  to  town  by 
thinking  how  the  leaves  will  be  falling  on  Coss-Heap,  and 
how,  by  reason  of  these  awful  hurricanes.  Shearwater  will 


496  THE  MANIFOLD  GOSPEL. 

have  ceased  to  be  navigable.  We  have  never  speat  a 
month  more  purely  in  recreation,  or  more  pleasantly,  and 
we  neither  wish  nor  hope  for  anything  more  delightful 
than  the  hoHday  at  Warminster. 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  your  exegesis  of  'poor  in  spirit' 
is  right.  What  a  boundless  theme  is  that  sermon !  I 
remember  in  the  Presbytery  of  Edinburgh  some  one  ob- 
jected to  the  discourse  of  a  candidate  for  license  that  'it 
did  not  contain  the  Gospel ;'  and  old  Dr.  Gilchrist  retorted, 
'I  believe  that  if  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  had  been 
preached  as  a  trial  sermon  before  this  Presbytery,  it  would 
have  been  rejected.'  But  I  suspect  the  real  truth  is  that 
the  Gospel  was  never  absent  when  the  Lord  Jesus  was 
present.  We  have  vcrlal  Gospels,  like  John  iii.  16;  and 
dramatic  Gospels,  like  the  Lord's  Supper;  and  there  once 
was  a  living  Gospel,  the  good- will  of  God  incarnate  in 
the  person  of  His  Son  (John  i.  17,  12,  etc.)  In  other 
words,  with  His  manifestation  of  the  Divine  disposition 
towards  sinners,  the  greatest  of  Gospels  was  the  Lord 
Jesus  HimseK;  or  in  other  words  still,  to  this  and  all 
His  sermons  there  was  an  evangelical  element  superadded 
in  the  mien  and  bearing  of  the  Divinely-commissioned 
and  benevolent  Speaker.  James  Hamilton." 

"London,  Feb.  13,  1860. 

"  My  deak  Mr.  Gunn,—  .  .  .  You  need  not  look  out 
for  my  '  reviews '  in  the  Patriot.  My  literary  echpse  is 
total.  There  is  not  even  the  faintest  annulus  of  illumi- 
nated surface  remaining ;  and  I  cannot  tell  what  a  luxury 
it  is  to  relapse  into  this  comparative  leisure.  To  write 
two  sermons  a  week  I  do  not  find  oppressive,  as  I  often 


ERASMUS.  497 

did  when  I  had  in  liaud  Excelsior  and  Christian  Classics. 
I  have  even  bought  Opera  Omnia  Frasmi,  in  eleven 
folios,  and  begun  to  read  it  through. 

"  Henry  "Wills  was  interested  in  our  live  stock.  He 
will  be  happy  to  hear  that  the  parrakeets  are  pretty  well. 
The  dormouse  escaped  on  Saturday  se'nnight,  but  was 
found  in  a  trap  which  I  set  for  him  this  morning,  alive 
but  very  hungry.  The  lizard  lived  on  till  the  first  of 
December,  by  which  time  flies  had  become  exorbitantly 
dear.  That  evening,  as  he  w^as  taking  a  walk  in  the 
library,  some  one  trod  on  his  head  and  he  died  on  the 
spot." 

"  London,  3Iarch  5,  18G0. 

"  My  dear  William, —  .  .  .  lieading  together  (Annie 
and  I)  A  Life  for  a  Life,  we  were  so  much  pleased  with  it, 
that  I  ^vrote  a  note  thanking  the  writer,  a  thing  which  I 
never  remember  to  have  done  before.  I  had  a  nice  hearty 
note  in  return  from  Miss  Mulock,  saying  that  she  was 
once  a  Eegent  Square  hearer.  I  once  met  her  at  Mrs. 
Oliphant's,  but  cannot  recall  her.  I  forget  whether  I  told 
you  that  I  had  been  guilty  of  the  great  extravagance  of 
buying  Erasmus  (£7).  But  he  is  capital  reading,  and 
'cut  and  come  again.'  The  release  from  editorial  labour 
makes  me  feel  quite  rich  in  leisure,  and  besides  writing 
my  two  sermons  a  week  (one  always  on  the  life  and  times 
of  Moses),  I  do  read  a  good  deaL" 

The  Synod  assembles  in  Sunderland  tliis  year :  in  an 
interval  of  business  a  winged  messenger  is  despatched  to 
carry  a  pleasant  thought  home  : — 

2  I 


498  THE  PUECHASE  AND  REPAIR 

"  SUNDEULAND,  April  IS,  1860. 

"  My  dearest  Annie,— After  four  hours'  discussion,  we 
have  just  got  through  the  Foreign  Mission  Eeport,  and  so, 
being  released  for  a  few  minutes,  I  devote  them  to  you. 
Often,  in  the  din  of  tlie  debate,  I  take  swifter  wings  than 
those  of  a  dove,  and  find  myself  in  my  dear  nest  at  home. 
I  wish,  too,  that  it  were  as  natural  to  me  to  take  these 
wings  and  fly  away  to  another  home,  of  which,  although 
we  have  never  yet  been  there,  a  good  deal  has  been  told  us, 
and  which  will  by  and  by  be  far  dearer  to  us  than  Euston 
Square  has  ever  been.  We  are  getting  on  very  pleasantly. 
There  has  been  no  outbreak  of  temper  or  bad  feeling." 

Early  in  18 GO,  measures  were  finally  taken  for  bringing 
10  an  issue  all  questions  relating  to  the  tenure  of  the 
Church.  At  the  period  of  the  Disruption  in  1843,  a  debt 
of  £5000  was  attached  to  the  building.  As  a  matter  of 
course,  the  Session  and  Congregation  made  no  effort  to 
reduce  this  burden  while  any  uncertainty  remained  re- 
garding tlieir  title  to  the  property.  For  a  period  of  seven- 
teen years  this  state  of  matters  remained  unchanged.  At 
length,  however,  it  became  necessary  to  execute  extensive 
repairs.  But  the  same  reason  that  withheld  them  from 
extinguishing  the  debt,  withheld  them  also  from  repairing 
the  fabric  until  it  should  be  determined  whether  the  pro- 
perty were  legally  their  own.  As  the  only  method  of 
solving  the  difficulty,  the  church  was  exposed  to  sale  by 
the  mortgagee,  and  bought  for  tlie  congregation  at  a  price 
not  much  greater  than  the  amount  of  the  encumbrance.^ 

'  Tlie  conditions  of  the  trust-Jeed  were  verv  carefully  fulfilled.     Besides  ad- 


OF  REGENT  SQUARE  CHURCH.        499 

Having  secured  an  unchallengeable  title,  the  congregation 
proceeded  to  repair  and  improve  their  much- loved  church. 
On  examination,  it  was  found  that,  owing  to  defects  in  the 
original  construction  of  the  roof,  and  a  tendency  to  decay 
in  the  external  surface  of  the  towers,  a  much  larger  sum 
would  be  required  than  was  at  first  contemplated.  After 
many  delays,  the  work  was  at  length  executed  in  the 
autumn  of  18G0.  The  cost,  including  the  mortgage, 
£5000,  and  a  handsome  lecture-hall,  £1000,  amounted, 
inclusive  of  interest,  to  £14,083,  5s.  2d.  The  bulk  of  this 
sum  was  subscribed  at  the  time,  and  the  balance,  through 
sundry  efforts  of  zealous  members,  was  finally  cleared  off' 
in  the  close  of  18G4. 

While  the  church  was  undersfoincj  these  extensive  re- 
pairs  the  minister  obtained  a  holiday.  By  medical  advice, 
he  spent  it  chiefly  at  German  baths. 

TO  MU.  AVATSON 

"  HoMBUEG,  August  3,  1860. 

"My  DEAR  Friend,— On  Wednesday  last,  wdio  should 
turn  up  at  table-dlwtc  but  Professor  Miller  !  He  '  took 
stock'  of  me  after  dinner,  and  pronounced  me  ready  for 
Schwalbach,  and,  what  I  was  sorry  to  hear,  in  need  of  it. 
As  this  implies  my  not  getting  home  till  the  end  of  the 
month,  I  was  scarcely  inclined  to  acquiesce,  especially  as 
we  are  most  comfortably  settled  here,  and  had  planned  to 

vertisenients  of  the  intended  sale  in  the  newspapers,  notices  were  sent  to  the 
Moderator  and  Clerk  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  to  Dr.  John  Gumming  of 
London.  The  fullest  opportunity  was  given  to  the  authorities  of  the  Estab- 
lished Chiirch  to  come  forwaixl  and  pay  the  mortgagee.  If  they  had  chosen  to 
do  so,  in  all  probability  their  claim  to  the  property  would  not  have  been 
resisted. 


500  PllOFESSOil  xMlLLER. 

return  with  my  brother  on  this  day  fortnight.  However, 
yesterday  I  went  into  Frankfort  to  consult  Dr.  Spiess,  the 
most  famous  physician  in  Germany.  I  found  him  what 
I  was  prepared  to  expect,  a  solid  and  masterly  man,  with 
quick,  keen  insight,  and  great  good  sense  ;  and  in  a  few 
minutes  he  pronounced  for  Schwalbach.  This  is  what 
Dr.  Williams  recommended  before  I  came  away ;  but  I 
lioped  that  after  this  fortnight  at  Homburg  I  should  need 
nothing  else.  Now,  however,  there  seems  no  help  for  it. 
'  In  for  a  penny,  in  for  a  pound.' 

"Professor  Miller's  company  is  itself  an  immense 
attraction. 

"As  we  were  cheated  out  of  Mr.  Noel's  services  last 
Sabbath,  we  got  up  a  sermon  on  Wednesday  evening,  his 
last  evening  here,  and  had  an  overflowing  congregation. 
The  address  was  delightful, — quiet,  and  conversational,  on 
the  woman  with  the  alabaster  box  of  ointment." 

He  was  captivated  by  Professor  Miller :  they  were 
kindred  spirits.  That  beloved  physician,  too,  has  been 
early  taken  away  from  a  world  that  seemed  to  need  him. 
With  Professor  Miller  and  Baptist  Noel  and  James 
Hamilton,  besides  "honourable  women  not  a  few,"  the 
English  community  at  Homburg  that  season  were  favoured 
with  some  choice  Christian  society. 

"  Langenschwalbach, 
Black  Bartholomew'' s  Dai/,  Aug.  24,  ISGO. 

"  My  deae  William, —  .  .  .  Our  own  plan  was  to  go 
on  Monday  next ;  but  Professor  Miller  is  so  peremptory 
for  another  week,  that  I  suppose  we   must    remain  till 


REOPENING  OF  THE  CHURCH.  501 

Monday,  Sept.  3.  On  Friday  we  forgathered  with  Profes- 
sor Blackie,  who  had  that  day  finished  his  translation  of 
Homer.  He  took  us  up  to  his  sanctum,  and  read  a  speci- 
men, which  I  thought  remarkably  fine.  It  is  in  fourteen 
syllabic  lines,  a  sort  of  ballad  metre.  Then  leaving 
Andrew  to  be  picked  up  by  the  Wiesbaden  -Diligence,  we 
came  home  again. 

"  On  Friday  our  colony  received  an  accession  in  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Main  from  Edinburgh.  Yesterday  we  had  a 
flying  visit  from  your  friend  James  Crawford  and  his  wife, 
and  yesterday  I  went  with  Lord  Panmure  and  his  ladies 
a  picnic  to  Eauenthal,  whence  a  magnificent  "vdew  of  the 
Khine.  These  are  nearly  all  the  incidents  since  that 
saddest  one  of  your  ov/n  departure.  We  drink  every 
morning,  sleep  eveiy  noon,  table-dlidte  at  the  Allee  Saal, 
— except  to-day,  when  we  made  a  capital  dinner  for  25 
kreuzers  apiece  at  the  '  Eestauration,'  and  this  evening, 
as  once  before,  we  take  tea  with  the  Lady  Emma.  Cold 
and  rainy  as  the  weather  is,  I  almost  wish  that  I  were 
aoain  safe  amonQ;st  the  books  and  coals  of  London.  And 
you  are  thankful  to  be  again  at  Stonehouse." 

The  renovated  church  was  opened  on  a  week-day  by  Dr. 
Guthrie,  and  Dr.  Hamilton  preached  on  the  following 
Sabbath,  21st  October  18 GO.  Before  sermon,  and  in  con- 
nexion with  the  text,  Judges  vii.  1 8,  he  delivered  a  stir- 
ring address.     We  give  it  in  full  "from  his  manuscript : — 

"  There  is  great  power  in  a  battle-cry  well  chosen  and 
well  worded.  '  Soldiers,  from  the  top  of  these  pyramids 
forty  centuries  look  down  upon  you  ! '  said  Xapoleon  to  his 


502  nelson's  battle  cey 

troops  on  the  eve  of  conflict  in  Egypt,  and  tliis  appeal  to  a 
cloud  of  witnesses  was  the  very  thing  to  rouse  the  fiery  and 
glory-loving  sons  of  France.  But  not  more  powerful  than 
the  watchword  which  Gideon  gave  to  his  three  hundred 
patriots,  a  band  as  devoted  as  the  three  hundred  at  Ther- 
mopylse  ;  and  which,  revived  not  long  ago  with  its  double 
element  of  patriotism  and  piety,  thrilled  the  ironsides  of 
Cromwell — '  The  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon  !' 

"  In  recent  times  no  saying  of  the  sort  has  been  so  suc- 
cessful as  the  last  appeal  of  our  great  naval  hero.  It  was 
on  the  21st  of  October  1805  (fifty-five  years  ago  this  very 
day)  that  the  battle  of  Trafalgar  was  fought.  After  a  two 
years'  hunt,  Nelson  that  morning  overtook  the  fleets  of 
France  and  Spain,  and,  never  thinking  of  his  inferior 
numbers,  hung  out  the  watchword,  '  England  expects 
every  man  to  do  his  duty.'  The  signal  was  answered 
with  acclamations  all  along  the  line,  and  before  the  sun 
went  down  that  enormous  armament  was  annihilated,  and 
it  became  no  bootless  boast,  what  another  great  sea-cap- 
tain had  said  not  long  before  in  reply  to  the  question, 
'  But  will  the  French  not  come  to  Enoiand  ? '  '  At  all 
events  they  cannot  come  hi/  sea  ! ' 

"  Nelson's  watchword  was  eminently  successful ;  but 
it  could  not  have  succeeded  unless  there  had  been  some- 
thing responsive  in  the  men  to  whom  it  spoke.  P(jrliaj)s 
it  would  have  failed  with  Napoleon's  guards  beneath  the 
Pyramids ;  assuredly  Napoleon's  sentiment  would  have 
failed  with  Nelson's  tars.  But  it  is  a  fine  thing  to  know 
that  even  in  that  rough  and  regardless  time,  in  the  days  of 
press-gangs,  and  soon  after  a  frightful  mutiny,  there  was 


ADAPTED  TO  THE  CHURCH.         503 

love  of  country,  there  was  fear  of  God  sufiicient  to  make  a 
challenge  like  this  the  key-note  of  conquest.  I  say  '  love 
of  country/  for  the  first  word  was  '  England  ; '  and  '  fear  of 
God,'  for  the  last  word  was  '  duty.' 

"  On  such  an  anniversary,  and  on  the  Sabbath  after 
such  a  sermon  as  we  heard  last  Wednesday,  I  hope  it  is 
not  out  of  place  to  recall  these  memorable  words.  They 
are  eminently  Protestant  and  British.  They  recognise 
that  great  principle  of  individual  responsibility  which 
makes  every  man  stand  alone,  and  strictly  accountable ; 
they  appeal  to  that  Anglo-Saxon  energy  which  performs 
its  own  part  without  looking  round  to  see  what  others  are 
doing.  And  although  we  devoutly  pray  that  such  scenes 
of  carnage  may  never  come  again,  long  may  such  words 
convey  the  essence  of  the  Englishman  !  Long  may  they 
resound  in  the  bloodless  battles  which  it  is  our  lot  to  be 
daily  fighting  ! 

"  Every  man,  every  member  of  the  Church,  in  our  own 
case  the  twice  three  hundred  who  are  enrolled  beneath  the 
banner  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  the  Church  expects  every 
one  to  do  his  duty,  and  so  expects  the  Church's  glorious 
Head.  Do  it  in  the  way  of  preventing  evil,  as  well  as  in 
the  way  of  doing  good.  Do  it  by  speaking  the  word  in 
season  to  those  who  come  near  you.  Do  it  by  sending 
the  missionary  to  those  whom  you  yourselves  cannot 
reach.  Do  it  in  ruling  your  own  spirit,  and  spare  a  little 
to  help  those  who  are  battling  with  the  sins  that  beset 
them.  Do  it,  scholar,  in  thy  study ;  do  it,  preacher,  in 
thy  pulpit ;  do  it,  Martha,  in  the  kitchen  :  do  it,  good  work 
and  honest,  Simon  in  the  tan-pit,  Aquila  in  the  tent- 


504  BIOGRAPHY  OF  CAELYLE. 

maker's  yard.  Do  it,  even  although  there  is  no  one  to 
see.  Do  it,  even  although  others  should  not  do  theirs. 
Do  it,  even  although  there  be  danger  in  the  doing.  Do 
it,  for  if  there  be  danger  in  the  doing,  there  is  more  dan- 
ger in  the  neglect.  Do  it,  though  there  is  no  one  to  see  ; 
for  even  when  onlookers  are  most  numerous,  the  chief 
spectator  is  invisible,  and  when  no  one  else  is  visible, 
He  still  is  present.  Do  it,  even  although  others  should 
not  do  theirs  ;  for  if  at  first  it  seems  a  hardship,  it  is  the 
highest  honour  not  only  to  fulfil  your  own,  but  to  supply 
the  lack  of  other's  service." 

"4S  EusTON  Square,  Jan.  3,  1861. 

"  My  dear  WiLLTA:\r, —  .  .  .  Your  own  is  a  cheering 
letter,  with  its  accounts  of  yourselves  and  of  the  continued 
good  work  in  Stonehouse.  I  am  only  sorry  that  blankets 
are  not  more  abundant  in  the  village.  Please  to  lay  out 
£2  of  the  enclosed  on  these  '  compliments  of  the  season,' 
and  will  you  either  give  £1  to  each  of  the  children  with 
my  '  Happy  New  Year,'  or  expend  it  in  a  way  that  may 
approve  itself  to  parental  wisdom. 

"  The  renovated  church  is  a  great  success.  Notliing  can 
l)e  more  beautiful,  and  it  is  extremely  comfortable,  and 
quite  as  good  for  hearing  as  so  large  a  place  could  be.  The 
standing  at  Psalms  has  improved  the  singing.  There  is 
a  great  increase  in  the  attendance,  but  the  communion 
roll  is  almost  the  same  as  in '59, — being  then  G 12,  and 
now  G17. 

"  Carlyle's  biography  is  both  amusing  and  horrible  ;  but 
it  lifts  the  veil,  and  will  leave  posterity  in  no  manner  of 


"a  whip  foe  the  indolent.  505 

doubt  as  to  the  intrinsic  character  of  the  moderate  party 
during  the  last  half  of  last  century.  George  Wilson's 
life  I  have  read  with  interest,  from  having  known  himseK; 
but  I  fear  it  is  too  long  for  the  general  reader.  My  teeth 
now  water  for  Motley's  new  volumes ;  but  I  must  leave 
them  over  till  next  week.  His  daughters— -the  oldest,  a 
fine  intelligent  girl — used  to  attend  Eegent  Square  last 
winter  along  with  Miss  Anderson's  pupils.  You  perceive 
on  what  rechercM  paper  I  write.  Having  to  inscribe  the 
above  some  two  or  three  thousand  times  a  year,  I  tliouglit 
it  w^ould  be  a  great  saving  to  have  it  printed.  I  begin  the 
year  with  four  reams  or  1920  sheets  of  it,  and  will  see  how 
long  it  lasts.  I  am  wonderfully  diligent,  entirely  pastoral, 
seldom  preaching  week-day  sermons,  never  out  of  my  own 
pulpit  since  October,  resolutely  refusing  all  applications  to 
write  for  the  press,  even  your  friend  of  Pilrig's  entreaty 
to  review  Motley  in  the  Forth  British. 

Dr.  Wilson  of  the  Free  Church  Mission  Institute,  Bom- 
bay, in  a  letter  of  date  14th  August  1860,  after  commend- 
ing to  his  notice  a  young  Oriental  about  to  settle  in 
London,  says,  "  When  I  was  in  Eajputana  some  months 
ago,  I  found  on  sale  at  the  Government  Education  Depot 
a  tract  in  Urdu  (Hindustani,  as  spoken  by  the  Mussul- 
mans), in  which  you  may  feel  some  interest,  as  it  is  a 
translation  from  Life  in  Earnest.  I  send  a  copy  of  it  by 
Mr.  Kyan."  And  here  it  is  in  characters  very  uncouth  to 
occidental  eyes,  but  with  an  alternative  title,  considerately 
given  in  English,  "  A  Whip  for  the  Indolent,"  extracted 
and  translated  from  Life  in  Earnest,  by  Babu  Siraprasad. 


50C  DEATH  OF  HIS  NEPHEW. 

There  must  be  something  remarkable  in  tliat  religious 
teaching  which  is  originally  addressed  to  a  congregation  in 
London,  and  is  reproduced  by  one  of  themselves  for  the 
use  of  Mussulmans  in  the  interior  of  India. 

"48  EusTON  Square,  il/arc/t  15,  1861. 

"  My  deae  William, — Yesterday  Mr.  Adams  called  and 
brought  bad  accounts  from  the  African  squadron,  in  which 
James  (liis  cousin's  son)  of  Beddington  has  been  for  two 
years.  It  seems  that  the  Mandingoes — a  set  of  warlike 
Africans — had  been  attacking  our  settlement  on  the 
Gambia,  and  the  '  Arrogant,'  with  one  or  two  other  ships, 
sailed  up  the  Gambia  to  put  down  the  disturbance.  3000 
Mandingoes  with  900  Arab  cavalry  had  entrenched  them- 
selves in  stockades — a  sort  of  rampart  against  which 
cannon  are  almost  useless,  being  beams  or  trunks  of  trees 
driven  into  the  ground,  and  wattled  together  with  green 
branches,  through  which  balls  pass  freely,  and  which  can- 
not be  burned.  Against  this  stockade  James  was  leading 
on  a  storming  party  of  sixty  sailors,  waving  his  sword 
with  one  hand  and  holding  a  revolver  in  the  other.  They 
must  have  seen  that  he  was  an  officer,  and  taken  good  aim, 
for  he  fell  with  three  bullets  through  the  heart.  The 
stockade  was  taken  with  the  destruction  of  some  hundreds 
of  its  defenders,  but  poor  James  lies  there  in  his  soldier's 
grave  beneath  the  tropic." 

"London,  June  12,  18G1. 

"  My  DEAR  William,—  ...  A  few  weeks  ago  Uncle 
Thomas  called  and  gave  me  £1000  of  Great  Northern  Pre- 
ference Stock,  which  he  intended  for  poor  James  ;  and  he 


REVIEW  OF  THE  YEAK.  507 

said  that  he  meant  to  give  the  same  amount  to  you.  The 
only  sad  thing  about  it  is,  that  he  for  whom  it  was  origi- 
nally intended  'is  not.'  It  is  a  wonderful  accession  of 
wealth,  and  will  in  many  ways  be  useful." 

"Jan.  1,  1862. — Of  four  reams  of  note-paper  laid  in 
on  last  New  Year's  Day,  there  now  remains  a  single  quire, 
indicating  (official  documents  and  foreign  correspondence 
inclusive)  about  2000  letters  for  the  year.  These  letters 
take  more  time  than  all  my  sermons  and  lectures.  Since 
I  last  wrote  in  this  book,  we  have  altered  and  re-opened 
Eegent  Square  Church.  The  cost  was  more  than  £13,000, 
but  both  the  congregation  and  friends  contributed  so 
largely  that  we  are  only  £2000  in  debt.  Mr.  Gillespie, 
Mr.  Thomson,  Mr.  Duncan  gave  £500  or  upwards  each, 
and  very  memorable  have  been  the  services  of  Mr.  Petrie 
as  treasurer,  and  Mr.  Watson  as  secretary  of  the  acting 
building  committee.  The  new  church  was  opened  by 
Dr.  Guthrie,  October  1860;  and,  Avith  its  commodious 
pews  and  capital  ventilation,  is  as  comfortable  as  a  large 
building  can  be.  We  have  just  revised  our  communion 
roll.  Although  we  have  added  108  members  during  the 
year,  the  increase  is  only  eight  actually,  making  our 
regular  communicants  625  in  all.  During  last  year  I 
officiated  eighty-one  times  in  Eegent  Square,  and  gave 
fifty  sermons  or  lectures  elsewhere." 

In  the  congregational  report,  1862,  when  a  ministry  of 
twenty-one  years  had  been  accomplished  amongst  them, 
the  office-bearers  introduced  an  affectionate  tribute  to  his 
worth.     Those  annual  reports  are  models  of  succinctness 


508  CONGREGATIONAL  EEPOET. 

and  fulness.  The  compilers  brought  high  business  talent 
to  the  management  of  congregational  affairs.  They  did 
not  often  or  lightly  scatter  eulogies.  When  on  this  one 
occasion  they  broke  through  restraint,  and  praised  him  in 
his  presence,  it  is  due  to  all  parties  that  some  of  the  lead- 
ing paragraphs  should  have  a  place  in  this  record  : — 

"  We  have  left  until  last,  not  because  it  is  least,  a  point 
in  our  history  the  most  interesting  of  the  year.  On  the 
25th  of  July  last,  our  much-loving  and  much-beloved 
minister  completed  his  ministerial  majority  in  this  place. 
On  that  day,  twenty-one  years  ago,  he  preached  his  first 
sermon  as  our  minister.  Under  his  ministry,  your  gifts, 
in  collections  and  throucrh  our  congregational  association, 
exclusive  of  the  building  fund,  exceed  in  amount  £27,000  ; 
the  buildinf?  fund  sums  to  £12,000  more.  Such  an  un- 
broken  ministry  is  not  a  frequent  occurrence,  and  the 
liberality  which  it  has  drawn  forth  may  fairly  compare 
with  what  has  been  seen  in  the  most  fruitful  soils.  The 
fruits  that  cannot  be  marshalled  in  arithmetical  columns 
we  must  leave  to  be  unfolded  in  the  great  day  of  account. 
We  give  thanks  both  for  that  ministry  and  for  its  fruits. 
But  if  you  have  given  much,  you  have  also  received 
much.  How  shall  we  speak  of  such  a  ministry  as  we 
have  had  the  rare  privilege  of  enjoying  for  one-and-twenty 
years,  in  terms  that  shall  be  at  once  adequate  and  within 
bounds  ?  Viewing  the  presidency  under  which  we  are 
convened  this  night,  we  are  restrained,  by  obvious  reasons, 
from  saying  all  that  we  might  say  in  other  audience. 
But  while  restrained  from  saying  all,  shall  we  say 
nothing  ?   .   .    . 


HONOUR  TO  THE  MINlSTEll.  509 

"  We  must  ask  his  loving  nature  to  bear  witli  us  even 
in  this.  We  honour  ourselves  by  rendering  appropriate 
homage  to  a  mind  so  rarely  endowed  with  gifts  and  graces  ; 
to  a  man  pervaded  by  so  excellent  a  spirit  as  is  found 
in  him  ;  to  a  life  so  much  in  earnest,  and  so  winsome,  of 
which  so  large  a  part  has  been  spent  with-  om^selves ;  to 
so  living  and  loving  an  epistle,  so  capable  of  wooing  us  to 
the  Saviour  ;  to  a  mind  so  fully  furnished  with  knowledge, 
so  capable  of  transmuting  into  gold — beyond  the  dreams 
of  alchemy — whatsoever  it  touches  ;  so  capable  of  im- 
pressing every  fact,  and  almost  every  fancy,  into  his 
Master's  service.  Let  us  rejoice  that  a  mind  so  sanctified, 
and  so  fully  charged  with  things  new  and  old — so  capable 
of  compelling  tributaries  from  almost  every  region  to 
illustrate  and  enforce  the  truth,  was  led  to  devote  itself 
to  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  Let  our  prayers  for  his 
continued  health  and  success  in  liis  Master's  work  be 
unceasing.  Let  us  rejoice  in  his  ministrations  here  ;  and 
give  thanks  for  the  Christian  authorship  with  which  our 
language  and  the  world  is  by  him  enriched.  Ever  drawing 
lessons  for  us  from  the  Great  Biography,  he  has  this  year 
added  one  more  to  the  number,  fitting  sequence  to  the 
theme  suggested  by  the  night  on  the  Mount  of  Olives — 
A  Morning  hy  the  Lake  of  Galilee" 

"London,  July  7,  1862. 
"  My  dear  Me.  Davidson, — Our  friends  in  Eiver  Ter- 
race Session  are  afraid  that  you  have  been  somewhat  dis- 
couraged by  representations  as  to  that  field  of  labour,  and 
have  asked  me  to  write  to  you  my  candid  opinion  regard- 


olU  THE  MINISTER  OF  ElVEIl  TERRACE. 

ing  it.  Now  I  will  not  be  so  Quixotic  as  to  say  that  I 
prefer  Eiver  Terrace  to  all  tlie  Presbyterian  localities  in 
London,  but  as  a  locality  I  think  it  is  next  to  Eegent 
Square.  Islington  abounds  in  Scotchmen,  and  now  that 
Dr.  Edmond  is  moving  o&  as  far  as  Highbury,  the  field  is 
left  almost  entirely  to  yourself.  From  what  I  know  of 
the  neighbourhood  and  of  yourself,  I  know  no  reason  why 
you  should  not  have  next  year  a  large  and  flourishing 
congregation  gathered  round  you.  I  own  that  the  long 
vacancy  has  tended  to  scatter  the  people,  but  they  are 
not  far  away,  they  are  not  alienated,  and  they  will  be 
easily  brought  back  again.  Then  the  church  is  free  of 
debt.  There  is  an  excellent  Sabbath-school;  and  al- 
together, unless  you  give  it  the  coup  cle  grace  by  declining 
this  call,  there  are  few  of  our  churches  which  have  better 
prospects  than  Eiver  Terrace.  If  you  can  keep  up  your 
own  resolution,  in  the  trying  circumstances,  of  parting 
with  your  present  flock,  and  so  keep  up  the  spirits  of  the 
people  in  Islington,  you  will  find  a  great  door  and  effectual 
open,  and  will,  I  am  sure,  have  no  reason  to  regret  the 
translation. — Believe  me,  most  truly  yours, 

"  James  Hamilton." 

Mr.  Davidson  complied  with  this  advice,  and  has  never 
had  any  cause  to  regret  it.  His  ministry  at  Islington  is 
in  the  best  sense  successful. 

"  XoRTHAW,  lu  Barnet,  Aug.  19,  1SG2. 

"  My  dear  Willi.\m, —  .  .  .  Cases  like are  de- 
plorable.    There   should  be  some  self-acting  machinery' 


WEAK  POINTS  OF  PRESBYTERY.  511 

for  suppressing  congregations  or  suspending  ministers 
when  they  sink  so  low.  We  have  such  cases  in  England 
forced  upon  us  by  worthy  men,  sometimes  wealthy,  but 
they  are  at  once  the  suckers  of  our  substance  and  a 
scandal  to  our  cause." 

This  short  extract  contains  a  very  weighty  thought.  It 
behoves  all  self-supporting  Presbyterian  churches  to 
ponder  it  well.  A  lack  of  power  to  deal  authoritatively 
with  cases  of  failure  tlirough  some  incapacitating  pecu- 
liarity of  the  minister,  threatens  to  check  the  progress 
of  churches  that  are  otherwise  evangelical,  vigorous,  and 
free.  A  few  examples  of  a  ministry  that  is  incapable, 
with  possibly  here  and  there  one  that  is  chronically  dis- 
creditable, while  the  Church  courts  stand  idly  by,  without 
the  will  or  the  power  to  remedy  the  wrong,  do  more  to 
damage  the  Church  at  large  than  all  the  arguments  of  its 
adversaries.  It  is  essential  at  this  day  to  show  before  the 
world  that  Presbytery  does  not  consist  in  allowing  every 
man  to  do  as  he  likes — to  show  that  it  is  a  real  govern- 
ment. 

rr.OM  THE  PiEV.  J.  D.  BURNS. 

"  Hampstead,  Dec.  18,  1862. 

"  My  deae  De.  Hamilton, — Let  me  thank  you  very 
warmly  for  your  kind  and  acceptable  gift.  For  the  donor's 
sake,  as  well  as  for  its  own,  it  will  take  its  place,  not  only 
on  my  shelves,  but  in  a  more  exclusive  shrine,  side  by 
side  with  the  Mount  of  Olives.  And  I  believe  that  num- 
berless hearts  to  whom  that  book  has  ministered  help, 
guidance,  and   comfort  will  feel   that   you  have  hence- 


512  JAMES  BUKNS  AND  JAMES  HAMILTON. 

forward  thrown  tlie  same  sweet  and  hallowed  charui 
around  the  Lake  of  Galilee.  It  will  always  have  to  me  a 
pleasant  association  of  a  personal  kind  with  the  first  Sab- 
bath service  in  our  new  church ;  nor  could  I  have  desired 
a  better  consecration  of  our  sanctuary  to  the  service  of 
the  Gospel  than  in  words  of  the  loving  evangelist,  or 
rather  words  of  Him  who  loved  him,  so  touchingly  and 
wisely  expounded.  May  that  ever  be  the  spirit  of  all  the 
ministrations  within  its  walls.  You  have  given  me  a 
more  selfish  motive  for  liking  the  book,  by  honouring 
some  poor  verses  of  mine  with  a  place  in  it.  On  the 
principle  of  laudari  a  laudato,  I  cannot  but  be  gratified ; 
and  I  assure  you  in  all  seriousness  that  I  never  admired 
the  lines  till  I  saw  them  so  finely  set, — preserved,  too,  for 
future  times,  like  a  fly  in  amber.  Believe  me,  with  heart- 
felt acknowledgments,  yours  most  sincerely, 

"  James  D.  Bukns." 

Alas !  in  writing  these  familiar  names  the  biographer 
feels  as  if  he  were  walking  through  a  churchyard  and 
counting  the  tombstones  !  James  Burns,  a  true  poet  and 
an  able  minister  of  Christ,  writes  a  note  of  polished  praise 
to  his  brother  minister  and  brother  author,  James  Hamil- 
ton. Burns  is  called  away  first ;  Hamilton  survives  him 
long  enough  to  compose  his  Memoirs,  portions  written 
durincc  the  lassitude  of  his  last  illness  :  and  himseK  called 
away  before  the  book  reaches  the  press.  The  Memoir  of 
Burns  by  Hamilton  is  a  posthumous  publication ;  it  ap- 
peared after  the  grave  had  closed  on  its  author. 

At  ]\Ianchester,  in  1863,  the  Synod  adopted  a  general 


THE  CHURCH  EXTENSION  SCHEME.      513 

scheme,  suggested  by  Mr.  Eobert  Lockhart  of  Liverpool, 
a  zealous  and  liberal  elder,  for  extinguishing  the  debt  on 
existing  ecclesiastical  edifices,  and  of  extending  the  Church 
in  new  fields.  It  was  proposed  to  raise  £25,000  by  sub- 
scription, to  be  employed  as  a  central  fund,  at  once  to 
aid  individual  congregations,  and  to  stimulate  their  own 
liberality.  Not  long  after  its  origin.  Dr.  Hamilton  under- 
took the  superintendence  of  this  scheme,  as  convener  of 
the  committee,  on  condition  that  jMr.  William  Ferguson  of 
Liverpool  should  consent  to  be  treasurer.  Induced  by  the 
double  motive,  zeal  for  the  cause  and  great  personal  afiec- 
tion  for  the  convener,  Mr.  Ferguson  undertook  the  task. 
Thus  encouraged,  and  set  free  for  a  time  by  his  Presbytery 
from  his  own  pastoral  work.  Dr.  Hamilton  threw  himself 
into  the  effort  with  all  his  heart.  A  series  of  sermons  was 
preached,  and  a  series  of  meetings  held  in  Liverpool  in 
June  of  the  same  year  ;  and  the  Presbyterians  of  the  great 
sea-port,  aided  by  friends  and  neighbours,  inaugurated  the 
movement  by  a  subscription  of  £7500. 

It  was  an  arduous  undertaking,  but  it  was  successfully 
carried  through.  After  the  successful  commencement  in 
Liverpool,  a  meeting  was  held  in  London  15th  March  1864, 
under  the  presidency  of  the  Earl  of  Dalhousie,  at  which 
Dr.  Hamilton  gave  an  eloquent  exposition  of  the  plan. 
The  conclusion  of  his  address  contained  some  most  cheer- 
ing announcements, — "Liverpool  has  already  subscribed 
£7500,  and  in  Sunderland,  Newcastle,  North  and  South 
Shields,  at  least  £2500  more  had  been  promised.  They 
had  hoped  to  have  with  them  this  evening  Mr,  H.  M. 
Matheson,  and  they  all  lamented  the  cause  of  his  absence. 

2  K 


514  THE  CHURCH  EXTENSION  SCHEME. 

whilst  they  rejoiced  that  he  was  already  getting  better. 
But  he  was  prepared  to  give  to  the  Synod's  fund  what  the 
Prince  of  Wales  had  given  to  the  Bishop  of  London's  fund. 
Here  is  his  promise  of  a  thousand  pounds.  Failing  Mr. 
Matheson,  we  asked  Mr.  Barbour  of  Bolesworth,  who  has 
long  been  himself  a  central  fund  to  the  Church,  to  come 
and  support  our  noble  chairman.  Here  is  his  letter,  re- 
Sfrettins:  that  he  cannot  so  soon  return  to  town,  but  intimat- 
ing  his  intention  of  also  subscribing  a  thousand  pounds." 

The  fund  was  so  managed  that  in  the  course  of  the  next 
four  years  it  had  drawn  forth  local  contributions  more  than 
three  times  its  own  amount  for  the  extinction  of  debt,  and 
the  erection  of  new  churches.  In  this  denominational 
effort  the  character  of  Dr.  Hamilton  was  of  great  service 
to  the  Church  at  large.  Among  the  members  there  were 
resources  and  zeal  sufficient  to  make  the  needful  contri- 
bution, but  it  was  necessary  that  they  should  all  unite ; 
and  in  order  to  such  union  it  was  necessary  that  they 
should  all  have  confidence ;  and  in  order  to  confidence  it 
was  necessary  that  there  should  be  one  at  the  head  of  the 
organization  whom  all  could  implicitly  trust.  His  bright, 
hopeful  way,  too,  in  the  actual  conduct  of  affairs,  went  far 
to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  his  coadjutors,  and  carry  them 
through.  In  the  conduct  of  this  enterprise  he  showed 
himself  as  well  qualified  for  practical  business  as  for  the 
departments  of  the  scholar  and  the  theologian.  The  sphere 
of  his  ffifts  was  broad  and  varied. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

1860-1865. 

On  7th  AprU  1860  died  James,  only  son  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Hamilton  of  the  Eow.  He  was  an  accompHshed  man,  a 
devoted  Christian,  and  a  faithful  pastor  in  the  Episcopal 
Church.  He  had  been  for  many  years  Eector  of  Bedding- 
ton,  SuiTey.  Dr.  Hamilton,  at  the  request  of  his  uncre, 
whose  wish  was  law,  prepared  a  memoir  of  his  cousin,  whicli 
was  printed  for  private  use,  but  not  offered  to  the  pubhc. 
This  course  was  considered  more  consonant  with  the  gentle 
retirement  of  his  character;  but  both  the  hfe  delineated 
and  the  dehneation  of  the  Hfe  might  have  challenged  the 
widest  pubhcity. 

The  following  affectionate  note  was  addressed  by  the 
bereaved  widow  to  the  biographer : 

"  TuNBRiKGE  Wells,  July  16,  1863 

"My  dear  Cousin  James,— I  have  been  wisliing  to 
wiite  to  you,  to  tell  you  how  much  satisfied  I  am  with 
your  lifehke  sketch  of  my  dear  James  ;  it  comes  out  more 
and  more  as  I  read  it  over,  till  it  gradually  becomes  a 
complete  picture,  growing  upon  one  ;  so  far  more  satisfac- 
tory than  a  mere  formal  stereotyped  description  of  certain 
qualities  and  manner  would  have  been.     I  have  had  many 


516  "evangelical  chrlstendoal' 

most  affectionate  and  satisfactory  letters  about  it.  I  quite 
believe  it  wiU  be  a  blessing  and  comfort  to  many,  and  I 
feel  so  very  thankful  that  we  thouglit  of  having  it  com- 
piled, and  so  grateful  to  you,  dear  cousin  James,  for  having 
done  it.  You  must  let  me  thank  you  for  it,  for  I  know  it 
was  carried  on  in  the  midst  of  many  other  calls  upon  your 
time.  To  my  dear  father  I  believe  it  will  be  a  comfort 
and  delight  for  the  rest  of  liis  days,  and  you  have  made 
him  know  what  his  son  was  better  than  he  ever  did  before. 
I  am  sure  this  wiU  be  a  reward  to  you. — With  our  best 
love  to  you  all,  believe  me,  your  affectionate  cousin, 

"  Mapja^^ne  Hamilton." 

In  the  autumn  of  1863  a  proposal  was  made  by  the  late 
Mr.  Henderson  of  Park,  through  Mr.  Watson  of  Berners 
Street,  that  he  should  undertake  the  editorial  charge  of 
Evangelical  Christendom,  the  organ  of  the  Evangelical 
Alliance.  In  the  first  instance  he  declined,  mainly  on  the 
around  that  editorial  work  constituted  in  some  measure 
a  competing  or  secondary  calling,  and  so  became  the  rival 
of  his  pastorate. 

At  a  later  date,  however,  through  the  persuasion  of 
friends,  and  the  representation  made  of  the  necessity  and 
usefulness  of  the  Magazine  for  the  objects  of  Christian 
union,  which  lay  near  his  heart,  his  objections  were  over- 
come. He  undertook  the  work,  and  carried  it  on  without 
intermission  till  the  close  of  his  life.  Tliis  serial,  from  1 86-i 
to  1867,  contains  many  papers  by  his  hand  of  general  and 
permanent  interest  on  the  various  aspects  of  Christianity 
as  it  bears  on  the  world  and  the  age. 


LETTER  TO  PARENTS  BEREAVED.  51 7 

"London,  Nov.  20.  1863. 
"My  deae  William, —  ,  .  .  You  must  exceedingly 
miss  Jane  and  "Willie,  I  am  sure  it  is  good  for  young 
people  to  get  some  of  their  education  away  from  home ; 
but  I  am  very  soft-hearted  about  sending  any  of  ours 
away ;  on  the  other  hand  it  is  wonderful  ho"^  little  (here 
at  least)  one  sees  of  them  at  home.  Latterly  I  have 
allowed  them  to  come  more  into  the  study,  just  as  a 
means  of  keeping  up  the  acquaintance ;  but,  after  all,  it 
is  bodily  presence  rather  than  actual  intercourse.  I  am 
always  trying  to  save  time,  and  always  falling  again  into 
some  scrape.  Just  now  I  have  agreed  to  edit  Evangelical 
Christendom  for  1864,  which  will  pretty  well  swallow 
up  the  leisure  of  one  year." 

Thus  he  was  enticed  to  undertake  the  work,  as  Parlia- 
ment consents  to  pass  the  Mutiny  Act,  by  the  expedient 
of  undertaking  it  only  for  one  year. 

TO  MR.  AND  MRS.  FERGUSON,  BIRKENHEAD. 

"London, /are.  2,  1864. 

"  My  DEAR  Friends, — What  a  bitter  blow  to  you !  but 
what  a  blessed  New  Year's  Day  to  your  beloved  child ! 
How  well  I  remember  the  dear  little  fellow  with  his  too 
good  head,  and  his  bright  observant  ways.  I  think  the  last 
I  saw  of  him  was  when  his  mamma  and  his  brother  and 
he  convoyed  me  to  the  tramway,  and  in  a  few  days  they 
were  to  set  forth  for  Kinmundy  and  the  holidays.  And 
now  he  is  beholding  the  face  of  his  Father  who  is  in 
Heaven,  his  thirst  of  knowledge  will  be  abundantly  grati- 


518       ON  THE  DEATH  OF  LITTLE  ONES. 

fied,  and  all  the  traits  wliich  made  him  to  you  and  your 
friends  so  endearing  will  be  improved  to  the  utmost,  and 
features  will  be  added  which  it  hath  not  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man  to  conceive. 

"Most  deeply  do  we  both  feel  for  you  in  this  great 
sorrow ;  but  the  Lord  Himself  will  sustain  you  with  His 
own  strong  consolation,  and  will  make  all  grace  abound 
towards  you.  With  Mrs.  Hamilton's  sympatliizing  re- 
membrance, and  my  own,  to  yourself  and  Mrs.  Ferguson, 
— I  remain,  my  dear  friend,  ever  affectionately  yours, 

"James  Hamilton." 

The  death  of  this  child  brought  up  a  very  interesting 
circumstance.  In  June  of  the  preceding  year,  while  Dr. 
Hamilton  was  residing  with  his  friend  Mr.  Ferguson, 
prosecuting  the  Church  Extension  Fund,  he  occupied  some 
spare  hours  in  preparation  for  the  following  Sabbath  in 
London.  According  to  his  wont,  he  dated  the  sermon, 
place  and  time,  "St.  Aidan's  Terrace,  Birkenhead,  19th 
June  1863 ;"  its  text  was,  "And  he  said  unto  his  father, 
INIy  head,  my  head,"  2  Kings  iv.  1 9.  It  was  finished  partly 
on  the  way  and  partly  at  home  on  the  following  day. 
The  subject  was  the  death  of  little  children,  and  the  con- 
solations to  Christian  parents  under  bereavement.  A\Tien, 
more  than  six  months  afterwards,  he  learned  that  his 
friend's  bright  boy  had  been  suddenly  removed,  and  that 
liis  only  cry  during  the  illness  had  been  "  My  head,  my 
head,"  he  turned  to  the  MS.  of  the  sermon,  and  sent  it  for 
perusal,  date  and  all,  with  an  affectionate  letter  to  the 
bereaved  parents. 


GREEK  PHILOSOPHY.  519 


FROM  DE.  M'CRIE. 


"23  PvOCHESTER  RoAD,  Fth.  1,  1864. 

"  My  dear  Dr.  Hamilton,— With  the  pleasant  echoes 
of  your  morning  discourse  yesterday  stUl  sounding  in  my 
ears,  will  you  permit  me  to  make  a  humble,  though  very 
selfish,  request.  I  spoke  to  you  about  giving  these  ser- 
mons to  the  public,  but  I  'earnestly  covet'  them  for  the 
British  and  Foreign  Evangelical  before  they  are  framed 
into  a  volume.  They  would  form  an  admirable  sequel 
to  the  series  on  the  '  Scottish  Philosophy,'  from  the  pen 
of  our  friend  Dr.  M'Cosh.  They  would  furnish  a  most 
seasonable  and  effective  antidote  to  the  'Philosophy,' 
falsely  so  called,  now  poisoning  the  minds  of  our  young 
and  ingenuous  readers.  Even  as  they  stand,  without 
putting  you  to  any  great  trouble,  the  four  discourses 
would  make  delightful  reading  as  a  series  on  the  '  Grecian 
Philosophy.'  I  look  to  you  to  help  me  in  establishing 
the  British  and  Foreign. — Yours  very  sincerely, 

"  Thomas  M'Crie." 

These  lectures  on  the  sects  and  phases  of  the  Greek 
Philosophy  in  contrast  with  Christianity,  are  all  that 
Dr.  M'Crie  certifies  them  to  be.  They  have  not  yet  been 
published,  but  they  ought  to  see  the  hght. 

"London,  May  17,  1864. 

"  My  deae  William, —   .   .   .   The  day  after  I  returned, 

viz.,  last  Thursday,  Mrs.  Strong  left  for  Quarter,  where 

she   now  is.     We  were    quite   sorry   to   part  with   her. 

Amidst  much  suffering,  her  unselfish,  or  rather  self- con- 


520  LITERARY  ASPIRATIONS. 

quering  cheerfulness,  renders  lier  a  delightful  inmate,  and 
both  Annie  and  I  miss  her  greatly." 

Here  we  again  obtain  a  glimpse  of  that  friendship,  more 
than  romantic,  having  its  root  in  a  common  relation  to  the 
same  Eedeemer,  which  was  formed  during  his  brief  ministry 
at  Abernyte,  and  endured  without  abatement  to  the  end. 
"We  shall  meet  with  the  family  very  soon  again  in  the 
course  of  our  narrative,  and  learn  the  value  of  such 
sanctified  attachments.  The  need  will  soon  occur  which 
requires  and  manifests  the  friend  indeed. 

During  this  summer  an  access  of  the  Erasmus  fever 
occurs.  As  usual  in  such  cases,  a  small  note-book  is  bought, 
and  duly  inaugurated.  The  great  intention  is  announced, 
and  entries  bearing  on  it  regularly  begun.  In  this  in- 
stance the  record  extends  only  over  one  week.  The 
project,  driven  out  by  a  whole  army  of  assailing  cares, 
goes  out  of  sight  for  the  time.  After  a  few  throbs,  each 
feebler  than  its  predecessor,  the  conception  seems  to  expire. 
Some  time  afterwards,  as  we  shall  see,  he  returns  to  this 
fondly  cherished  scheme,  not  with  the  view  of  executing 
it,  but  in  order  to  lay  it  tenderly  in  its  grave,  as  a  thing 
greatly  desired,  but  impossible  in  a  life  so  short  and  so 
full.     We  insert  the  whole  of  this  record  : — 

"48  Etiston  Square,  London,  June  10, 1864. — Last  week, 
a  notion  which  I  have  long  entertained  revived  on  my 
mind  so  powerfully  as  to  be  for  the  moment  a  ruling 
passion.  It  is  to  write  a  popular  sketch  of  the  life  and 
times  of  Erasmus — a  subject  of  wliich  I  took  partial  pos- 
session in  an  Exeter  Hall  lecture  four  years  ago.     I  have 


DAY-BOOK.  521 

got  the  books,  and  in  my  memory  have  some  of  the 
materials ;  but  I  must  go  about  it  honestly,  and  not  give 
to  it  the  time  which  anterior  duties  claim.  The  amount 
of  this  is  small  indeed.  I  have  got  this  book  in  order  to 
mark  down  for  a  time  how  the  days  are  filled  up,  and  see 
by  actual  experience  how  far  I  am  likely  to  succeed. 

"  On  Monday,  six  hours  were  consumed  by  visitors,  one 
and  a  half  hours  by  a  meeting  of  our  district  visitors,  and 
then  a  meeting  of  Session  nearly  three  hours  long  left  me 
no  energy  remaining. 

"  On  Tuesday,  I  started  at  eight  to  baptize  the  child  of  a 
good  man  who  had  come  up  for  the  purpose  from  Ipswich. 
Then  went  to  Blackheath,  and  then  to  Stratford,  to  see  an 
invalid  old  lady  who  had  sent  a  message  saying  that  she 
would  like  to  see  me,  and  only  got  back  in  time  to  attend 
two  committees,  and  finish  the  day  of  fourteen  hours  by 
speaking  at  a  public  meeting. 

"  Wednesday  the,  8^7i. — Started  at  nine  for  the  marriage 
of  Mary  Gillespie,  and  before  I  returned  from  that  and 
two  visits  of  friendship  at  Clapham  it  was  ten  at  night. 

"  Thursday  the  9th. — Worked — interrupted  by  visitors, 
for  six  hours  writing  letters  and  documents  connected  with 
our  Foreign  Missions,  the  Presbyterian  Mission  question, 
the  supply  of  vacant  churches,  etc.  Then  three  and  a  haK 
hours  calling  on  Madame  Jerichau,  Lord  Kollo,  Mrs.  Pati- 
son,  etc. — not  one  of  them  belonging  to  the  congregation, 
and  finished  off  with  the  prayer-meeting. 

"Friday  the  10th. — Spent  three  hours  laying  the  founda- 
tions of  a  sermon  on  'The  Spirit  of  Christ,'  John  vi.  63. 
and  gave  four  hours  to  visits.  In  the  evening  an  hour  of 
Erasmus. 


522  DR.  HAMILTON  INVITED 

"  llth,  Saturday. — Began  my  sermon  de  wot-o, and,  inter- 
rupted only  by  one  needful  visit  and  a  funeral,  proceeded 
prosperously  for  eight  hours. 

"  \2th,  Sunday. — Preached  twice. 

"  \Mh. — Usual  Monday  Ze^'(?'e.  Nine  letters,  four  hours 
of  visiting,  and  the  evening  closed  with  a  friend  at 
supper. 

"  nth. — Four  hours  Erasmus.  Visit  to  Horticultural 
Gardens.  Presbytery.  A  committee  two  and  a  half  hours. 
Three  letters.     Ten  visitors. 

"  \Mh. — Twelve  letters,  which,  with  visitors,  occupied 
from  breakfast  till  our  one  o'clock  dinner.  Then  till  tea 
visited.  Thereafter  Erasmus  three  and  a  half  hours,  and 
finished  the  Colloquies. 

"IGth. — Visits  to  the  sick  two  hours;  visitors  two  and 
a  half  hours.  Prayer-meeting  and  committee  three  hours. 
Eead  a  hundred  pages  Letters  of  Miss  Cornivallis. 

"  1 1th. — Prepared  a  paper  for  Evangelical  Christendom." 

Alas !  at  this  rate,  when  will  the  eleven  Latin  folios  of 
Erasmus  be  read  and  digested  ! 

When  Dr.  Guthrie  was  compelled  by  infirm  health  to 
retire  from  the  conspicuous  and  honourable  position  which 
he  had  long  held  in  Edinburgh,  the  eyes  of  Dr.  Hanna,  his 
colleague,  and  the  congregation  were  first  turned  towards 
Dr.  Hamilton  as  the  most  suitable  successor.  A  corre- 
spondence accordingly  took  place,  with  the  view  of  ascer- 
taining, in  the  first  instance  privately,  whether  he  was 
disposed  to  entertain  the  proposal.  His  judgment  as  to 
duty  was  from  the  first  clear,  and  therefore  he  wisely  gave 
a  decisive  answer  at  once,  so  that  the  matter  was  carried 


TO  SUCCEED  DR.  GUTHRIE.  523 

no  further.  Dr.  Hamilton  had  consecrated  his  life  to  the 
ministry  in  London,  and  he  would  not  permit  any  con- 
sideration of  relief  to  his  wearied  spirit,  or  leisure  for 
literary  work,  to  turn  him  aside  from  his  purpose.  The 
correspondence  between  him  and  Dr.  Hanna  on  that  occa- 
sion need  not  now  be  considered  private ;  '  and  on  the 
principle  of  enabling  the  reader  to  consider  for  his  own 
profit  "whatsoever  things  are  lovely"  in  the  intercourse 
of  fellow-disciples,  we  transcribe  it  here  entire : — 

FROM  DE.  HANNA. 

"Edinburgh,  July  14,  1864. 
"  My  dear  Dr.  Hamilton, — You  are  aware,  perhaps,  that 
in  consequence  of  Dr.  Guthrie's  being  permanently  laid 
aside,  we  are  anxious  to  find  some  one  to  fill  his  place  in 
St.  John's.  The  position  is  one  of  such  importance  that 
you  will  excuse  my  writing  to  you  about  it.  We  have 
difficulty  in  finding  in  Scotland  the  man  we  want,  and  it 
has  occurred  to  me  that  there  might  be  some  one  in  Eng- 
land  who  might  do.  Do  you  know  of  any  such  ?  Some 
of  our  members  were  so  presumptuous  as  to  cherish  the 
fond  imagination  that  the  comparative  relief  from  labour 
and  return  to  your  native  land  might  induce  even  you  to 
entertain  the  idea  of  it.  It  is  too  much  to  hope  for,  but 
I  could  state  many  things  about  the  position  you  would 
occupy  here  which  would  make  it  not  so  Utopian  as  at 
first  sight  it  seems;  but  I  presume  that  I  need  not  do 
more  than  simply  hint  at  it.  You  will  pardon  my  doing 
so  much,  as  it  springs  from  the  earnest  desire  I  have  to 
see  Dr.  Guthrie's  place  occupied  by  one  worthy  to  be  his 


524  INVITATION  TO  EDINBURGH 

successor.  It  will  be  my  effort  to  make  the  position  as 
agreeable  in  every  way  to  his  successor  as  I  have  striven 
to  make  it  to  him. — I  am  ever,  dear  Dr.  Hamilton,  very 
truly  yours,  Wm.  Hajstna." 

FROM  DR.  HAMILTON. 

"London,  July  23,  1S64. 

"  My  dear  Dr.  Hanna, — You  are  one  of  the  earliest 
and  dearest  of  my  friends,  and  in  Edinburgh  every  time 
I  revisit  it  I  feel  something  of  the  olden  spell,  and  I  am 
alive,  perhaps  too  keenly,  to  the  consideration  which  you 
urged, — the  hope  of  doing  some  things  in  a  sphere  of  com- 
parative leisure  which  it  is  very  certain  will  never  be 
done  in  London. 

"  But  the  reasons  against  leaving  Eegent  Square  seem 
conclusive.  I  cannot  suppose  that  there  ever  was  a  mini- 
ster happier  in  his  people  and  in  his  sessional  colleagues 
than  I  have  been,  and  the  thought  of  parting  is  what  I 
cannot  face ;  even  to  meditate  it  as  a  thing  possible  seems 
little  short  of  treason.  And  now  it  would  be  more  un- 
grateful than  ever,  for  it  is  ray  present  flock  which  has 
just  expended  an  enormous  sum  in  the  purchase  and  im- 
provement of  our  church,  and  which  has  done  more  than 
enough  to  make  me,  as  to  worldly  things,  free  from  care- 
fulness. The  effect,  too,  on  our  Presbyterianism  generally 
might  be  very  injurious.  To  personal  friends  who  have 
made  great  and  noble  sacrifices  for  church  extension  and 
for  missions,  I  am  sure  it  would  be  discouraging.  Here 
we  are  all  needful  to  one  another,  and  although  my  suc- 
cessor might  be  far  more    suitable,  that  would   hardly 


CONCLUSIVELY  DECLINED.  525 

make  amends  for  my  going  away.  With  a  wonderful 
dislike  to  ecclesiastical  affairs  and  to  business  generally, 
the  course  of  events,  and  the  misjudging  kindness  of  my 
brethren,  have  compelled  me  to  take  more  than  a  propor- 
tional share  of  our  Church's  work ;  and,  although  it  were 
for  nothing  else  but  the  fear  of  weakening  others'  hands, 
I  must  abide  at  my  post.  I  assure  you  it  costs  me  a 
pang.  Fully  the  half  of  my  time  is  occupied  in  doing 
things  which  many  men  could  do  far  better,  and  which 
are  to  me  unspeakably  irksome.  I  try  to  accept  them  as 
'  the  burden  of  the  Lord,'  but  often  I  inwardly  rebel,  and 
your  proposal  revived  for  an  instant  the  dreams  of  other 
days.  The  right  hand  which,  if  I  had  not  cut  off,  I  had 
at  least  tied  up  many  years  ago,  seemed  as  if  it  might  yet 
regain  its  cunning ;  and  now  I  feel  more  effort  than  I 
ought  in  removing  a  tempting  opportunity  and  returning 
to  the  life  of  a  Presbyterian  factotum.  However,  I  believe 
that  it  is  right,  and  with  so  many  compensations,  with 
congenial  friends,  an  affectionate  people,  and  an  abund- 
ance of  all  earthly  blessings,  it  would  be  ridiculous  as 
well  as  sinful  to  talk  of  sacrifice. 

"Let  me  in  conclusion  thank  you  and  those  other 
friends  who  have  thought  of  me  so  kindly.  In  one  thing, 
I  am  sure,  you  have  judged  aright,  we  should  have  gone 
on  famously  together ;  and,  although  I  must  not  accept 
your  invitation,  I  shall  always  remember  it  as  the  crown- 
ing act  in  a  friendship  which  began  more  than  thirty 
years  ago,  and  which  I  rejoice  to  believe  is  unending. 

"J.  H." 


526  LETTER  TO  HIS  LITTLE  DAUGHTER. 

"  London,  Juhj  25,  1864. 

"  My  deae  William, —  ,  .  .  Ten  days  ago,  Dr.  Hanna 
wrote  asking  me  how  I  would  like  to  be  Dr.  Guthrie's 
successor.  This,  of  course,  is  what  no  one  can  be ;  but 
for  some  reasons  I  might  have  liked  very  well  to  be  Dr. 
Hanna's  colleague  :  the  one  sermon  weekly,  the  leisurely 
life  of  Edinburgh,  the  idea  of  doing  some  things  which  I 
used  to  dream  of,  but  which  it  is  very  certain  I  can  never 
do  in  London.  All  this,  however,  is  countervailed  by  the 
necessities  of  my  position.  I  cannot  abandon  the  cause 
of  Presbyterianism  in  England,  nor  can  I  leave  a  people 
who  have  done  what  the  people  of  Eegent  Square  have 
done  within  the  last  four  years ;  so  to-day  I  sent  off  my 
refusal.  Although,  hke  Issachar,  I  see  that  rest  is  good, 
I  have  again  put  my  shoulder  to  the  burden." 

Most  touching  words,  when  read  in  the  light  of  subse- 
quent events.  Alas  !  the  burden  was  more  than  he  could 
bear;  and,  accordingly,  he  sank  soon  under  its  weight. 
He  would  not  accept  comparative  rest  in  Edinburgh ;  he 
would  labour  on  till  he  should  reach  the  perfect  rest. 

"London,  July  27,  1864. 

"]My  dear  Maey  Isabella, — My  last  was  to  Annie, 
and  this  is  to  you.  You  have  both  been  good  corre- 
spondents. 

"  Yesterday  I  went  down  to  Tiverton  in  Devonshire,  to 
give  my  lecture  on  '  Books  and  Eeaders.'  Devonshire  is 
a  beautiful  county,  abounding  in  corn  and  apple-trees, 
and  the  green  fields  all  studded  with  cows  of  a  tawny-red 


DIALOGUE  WITH  A  PIANO-TUNER.  527 

colour,  as  if  they  liad  been  dipped  in  treacle, — and  very- 
nice  cows  they  are,  for  it  is  their  milk  which  yields  the 
Devonshire  cream.  Tiverton  is  a  pretty  little  town,  with 
a  bright  stream  of  water  running  down  every  street,  like 
the  New  Jerusalem,  with  a  river  of  water  clear  as  crystal 
on  either  side  of  the  street.  I  slept  in  the  hotel,  and,  by 
way  of  distinction,  they  gave  me  the  rooms  which  Lord 
Palmerston  occupies  when  he  comes  down  to  be  elected 
Member  of  Parliament.  J.  H." 

"  TuNBRiDGE  Wells,  ^ugrMsi  15,  1864. 

"  A  man  came  in  to  tune  the  piano,  an  upright  one. 
When  the  front  was  removed  it  revealed  several  rows  of 
dirty  cobwebs,  which  gave  rise  to  the  following  colloquy. 
I  give  it  as  nearly  as  possible,  word  for  word.  I  believe 
that  the  tuner  now  sells  pianos  as  well  as  makes  them ; 
but  he  did  not  profess  to  be  more  than  a  working  man, 
and  spoke  like  one. 

"  '  D.D.  What  an  odd  place  for  spiders  to  build  in  ! 

"'Musician.  But  not  so  bad  either,  considering  their 
dangers  from  housemaids'  brooms. 

"  '  D.D.  But  if  it  is  flies  they  want,  they  will  have  long 
to  wait. 

" '  M.  When  the  weather  grows  cold  the  flies  will  go  in. 

"  '  D.D.  No  doubt ;  and  if  he  is  sure  of  a  good  feast  in 
October,  a  spider  will  submit  to  a  two  months'  fast  quite 
patiently. 

"  '  M.  Is  that  really  the  case  ? 

"  '  D.D.  I  remember  reading  of  a  gentleman  who  shut 
up  in  a  pill-box  a  field-spider  and  threw  it  into  a  drawer. 


528  DIALOGUE  WITH  A  PIANO-TUNER. 

He  thought  no  more  about  it  till  half  a  year  afterwards, 
when  he  opened  the  drawer,  and,  taking  off  the  lid  of  the 
box,  the  spider  sprang  out  as  lively  as  ever,  though  not 
quite  so  jolly.  His  body  had  shrunk  from  the  bulk  of 
a  pea  to  the  size  of  a  pin's  head.  It  is  the  same  with 
all  creatures  who  subsist  by  catching  others.  A  North 
American  Indian  can  exist  without  food  much  longer  than 
an  Englishman,  who  knows  that  he  has  only  to  step  into 
an  eating-house  when  he  wants  his  dinner.  And  it  is  the 
same  with  all  hunters.  A  horse  or  cow  would  die  if  left 
two  or  three  days  without  food,  but  a  lion  or  tiger  would 
feel  it  no  hardship  !  and  a  spider  who  lives  by  his  wits, 
has  been  constructed  so  as  to  survive  a  period  of  hunger 
which  would  kill  off  all  the  leaf-browsing  grubs  on  the  face 
of  creation. 

"  '  M.  Is  it  not  wonderful  how  the  Almighty  fits  every 
creature  for  the  life  it  has  got  to  lead  ?  Don't  you  think, 
sir,  it  would  be  nice  if  clergymen  like  you  were  sometimes 
explaining  these  things  in  their  sermons  ? 

"  '  D.D.  Well,  it  is  hardly  to  hear  about  these  things 
that  people  come  to  church.  It  is  the  Gospel,  or  God's 
merciful  message  to  sinners,  that  Christian  congregations 
wish  to  hear.  The  works  of  God  are  a  very  proper  subject 
for  popular  lectures  and  mechanics'  institutes,  but  people 
come  to  cliarch  to  hear  the  Word  of  God  explained. 

" '  M.  I  may  as  well  be  candid,  and  it  is  not  very  often 
that  I  have  been  to  church,  but  it  is  not  because  I  am 
against  religion.  It  is  because  at  church  I  either  cannot 
understand,  or  else  it  is  not  the  thing  that  my  mind  craves 
for.     It  is  all  either  denunciation,  or  doctrines,  or  phrases 


FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  WORKMEN.  '      529 

that  I  do  not  know  the  meaning  of.  And  I  think  it  is  the 
same  with  a  great  many  working  men.  I  have  been 
among  pianoforte-makers  in  different  factories  off  and  on 
for  eighteen  years,  mostly  in  London,  and  although  there 
are  some  wild  fellows  enough,  I  do  not  think  their  minds 
are  set  against  religion.  It  is  different  in  Paris,  where  I 
worked  for  two  years.  There  they  would  laugh  at  the 
whole  thing.  They  leave  religion  to  the  women,  but  the 
men  themselves  don't  really  seem  to  feel  to  want  it.  It 
is  different  in  England.  An  Englishman  is  made  for  re- 
ligion, and  however  bad  he  be,  there  is  always  something 
in  him  that  tells  him  it  is  right.  In  France,  the  priests 
keep  hold  of  the  people,  because  they  have  got  hold  of  the 
women ;  but  in  England  the  clergy  have  not  got  hold  of 
the  working  people,  either  men  or  women.  We  never  feel 
as  if  a  clergyman  could  understand  or  enter  into  us.  In 
any  trouble,  when  wanting  advice  or  comfort,  it  never 
occurs  to  us  to  go  to  a  minister. 

"  '  D.D.  Neither  the  English  nor  French  artisan  goes  to 
Church,  and  so  they  are  practically  alike  in  dispensing  with 
religion.  Did  you  find  much  difference  between  them 
otherwise  ? 

"'M.  The  French  operative  has  much  more  taste  than 
the  English.  Perhaps  it  is  natural  to  him  ;  but  in  Paris 
everything  is  so  beautiful,  and  people  are  so  much  in  the 
way  of  going  out  and  in  places  like  the  Louvre,  and  making 
remarks  on  what  they  see,  that  it  forms  their  taste  and 
gives  them  a  delicate  judgment  about  their  work.' 

"  He  then  told  me  what  a  nice  collection  of  the  mosses 
and  ferns  of  the  neighbourhood  his  own  boy  had  formed." 

2  L 


530  HIS  DAUGHTER  AT  SCHOOL. 

"  TuNBRiDGE  Wells,  Auj.  16,  1864. 
"  Deaeest  Annie/ — Your  letter  of  Saturday  and  Mon- 
day— for  wliicli  a  special  deputation,  consisting  of  Bell 
and  Tina  and  cousin  Maggie,  ^yent  to  the  post-oflice — was 
read  to  an  eager  auditory,  and  it  was  a  great  joy  to  us  all 
to  hear  thus  far  of  your  welfare.  At  first  there  will  be 
some  long  days,  and  now  and  then  some  dull  ones ;  but 
happily  our  minds  have  been  so  made  that  anything  to 
which  we  apply  them  at  last  becomes  pleasant,  and 
though  a  little  irksome  at  first,  we  get  inured  to  system 
and  routine.  The  Jiahit  is  invaluable.  People  who  are 
prompt,  punctual,  orderly,  methodical,  get  through  their 
work  in  the  world  so  quietly  and  comfortably,  and, 
with  least  fatigue  to  themselves,  do  the  most  service  to 
others.  For  the  sake  of  these  habits  alone,  it  is  worth 
while  to  be  at  school  for  a  time.  And  now,  my  dear 
daughter,  I  commend  you  to  the  care  and  keeping  of  your 
Heavenly  Father.  It  is  our  great  happiness  to  know  that 
He  is  ever  near  you.  May  Pie  enable  you  to  gain  the 
love  of  those  around  you,  and  give  you  health  and  happi- 
ness.    I  am  sure  you  will  find  ]\Iiss  Fox  good  and  kind. 

"  J.  H." 

"  TuNBRiDGE  Wells,  Aug.  20,  1864. 
"  My  dear  Sissie,^ — This  day  will  finish  your  first  and 
longest  week  of  school.  Mamma  and  I  miss  you  very 
much,  but  are  reconciled — at  least  try  to  reconcile  our- 
selves— to  your  absence  by  the  hope  of  the  advantage  you 
will  derive  from  it.  Most  of  the  week  I  have  spent  in 
reading  the  Latin  letters   of  Erasmus.     They  are  very 

1  Ilis  daughter  at  school.  ^  Familiar  name  for  Annie. 


EETEOSPECT  OF  VACATIONS.         531 

amusing.  One  I  read  to-day  describes  a  lively  tourist  on 
board  a  vessel  on  the  Eliine,  attended  by  a  monkey,  with 
a  musket  slung  to  his  side,  and  an  itinerary  (Murray's 
Guide)  in  his  hand,  in  which  he  was  constantly  jotting 
dow^n  the  names  of  the  places  as  they  passed, — all  so  like 
travellers  now-a-days,  all  except  the  monkey." 

"  The  Lord  bless  you  and  keep  you. — Ever  your  affec- 
tionate father,  James  Hamilton." 

"Brighton,  Scjjf.  1864. — I  would  like  to  recall  where 
and  how  the  August  recess  of  these  London  years  has 
been  spent. 

"  1842.— At  Tunbridge  Wells,  Eock  Lodge,  now  a 
tumble -down  old  house  on  the  ascent  to  Mount  Ephraim, 
with  my  dear  motlier  and  brothers  and  Jane.  Four 
weeks  of  w^onderful  sunshine.  Lay  most  of  the  time 
under  tlie  trees,  and  read  (among  many  other  books) 
Hetherington's  History  of  the  Church  of  Seotland,  and 
Haldane  On  the  Romans,  and  Hodge;  laying  the  plan  of  a 
course  of  lectures  on  Eomans,  which  filled  up  the  Sabbath 
mornings  of  nearly  three  years,  with  much  enjoyment  to 
myself,  and  I  hope  not  without  some  benefit  to  the  people. 
Here  also  I  prepared  for  the  press  a  tract.  The  Dew  of 
Hermon.  "We  used  to  worship  with  the  warm-hearted 
Wesleyans,  and  I  preached  twice  in  their  neat  little 
chapel,  and  have  still  a  handsome  copy  of  their  hymn- 
book,  which  they  gave  me  as  a  remembrance,  along  with 
a  specimen  of  their  Tunbridge  ware. 

"August,  1843. — "Was  in  Scotland,  still  tumultuating 
with  all  the  excitement  of  the  recent  Disruption.     Partly 


532  RETllOSPEOT  OF  VACATIONS. 

at  Stoneliouse,  preaching  to  tlie  Free  Cburch  adherents  in 
a  grassy  dell  by  the  burn-side,  near  the  village ;  partly  at 
Gourock  with  Mr.  William  Buchanan,  and  finally  with  the 
Gillespies  at  Dalblair  House,  near  Ayr.  One  excursion  I 
remember  with  much  pleasure  to  the  ruins  of  Crossraguel 
Abbey,  and  to  Culzean  Castle,  as  well  as  an  evening 
amidst  the  woods  and  waters  round  the  Castle  of  Mont- 
gomery. 

"1844. — Was  at  Worthing  gathering  mushrooms  with 
the  Gillespies  on  Chantonbury  Eing ;  going  picnics  to 
Bramber  ;  reading  Ernest  Maltravers. 

"  1845. — Along  with  Jane  and  Andrew,  joined  William 
and  his  bride  in  a  trip  to  Paris.  We  had  pleasant  apart- 
ments in  a  quiet  hotel  in  the  Eue  de  la  Paix,  and  were 
the  most  industrious  of  sightseers,  feeling  strong,  elastic, 
and  happy.  Every  morning  after  breakfast,  on  the  fresh- 
est of  eggs  and  finest  of  bread,  we  sallied  forth,  and  kept 
dutifully  moving  through  galleries  and  gardens  until  it 
was  time  to  return  to  our  five  o'clock  dinner.  Then,  when 
the  lamps  were  being  lighted,  we  started  anew,  revolving 
round  the  Boulevards,  turning  in  for  an  ice  at  Tortoni's 
or  a  cup  of  coffee  in  the  Palais  Eoyal.  With  William's 
funny  stories,  and  perpetual  flow  of  spirits,  or  with  fits  of 
remorse  at  his  own  extravagance,  which  were  still  more 
diverting,  it  was  a  joyful  time,  and,  as  we  drifted  along,  as 
gay  as  the  Parisians." 

"48  EusTON  Squake,  A^ov.  25,  1864. 
"  My  bkxr  Sissie, — Bell  has  been  a  prisoner  with  cold 
all  this  week,  and  has  improved  her  leisure  in  writing  a 


LETTER  TO  HIS  DAUGHTER.  533 

letter  wliicli,  no  doubt,  contains  all  the  news ;  so  what 
am  I  to  do  ?  For  you  don't  want  a  dissertation  ;  and 
what  you  do  want  is  forestalled.  But  let  me  see.  Has 
Bell  told  you  how  a  tortoise-shell  pussy  came  to  the 
kitchen  wdndow,  and  was  taken  in  ?  and  how  mamma, 
justly  fearing  for  the  birds,  ordered  it  away;  and  it  is 
gone  ?  And  how  the  parakeets  and  cockatoos  have  been 
brought  up-stairs  for  fear  of  the  cat,  which  has  gone 
away  ?  And  has  Bell  told  you  how,  on  Friday,  ]\Ir.  Fossett 
sent  two  pheasants  and  a  hare  ?  a.nd  how,  on  Monday, 
Mrs.  Ptippon  brought  two  more  pheasants  ?  and  how,  on 
Wedn,esday,  Mr.  Gillespie  sent  a  barrel  of  flour  ;  and  how, 
this  very  day,  Mr.  Thomson  sent  a  goose, — a  sister  of  tlie 
one  he  sent  last  Michaelmas?  Then  has  she  told  you 
how  this  week  I  have  been  reading  my  old  friend  Homer, 
and  like  him  better  than  ever  ?  and  how  1  have  edited 
the  December  number  of  Evangelical  Christendom,  and 
written  the  preface  to  the  volume  for  1864  ?  And  how 
Sabbath  next  will  be  my  birthday,  when  1  shall  be  fifty 
years  old  ?  If  she  has'  not  mentioned  these  things,  I  can't 
think  what  she  can  have  put  in  her  letter  ;  and  if  she  has 
told  you  all  these  things,  you  see  how  nothing  is  left 
for  me. 

"  A  fortnight  after  this  you  will  be  coming  home,  and 
the  Square,  which  you  left  so  beautiful,  will  be  dark  and 
sombre,  unless  the  fairies  should  come  and  cover  it  with 
their  frosty  filagree ;  and  Miss  Smith,  whom  you  left  '  a 
free  and  fetterless  thing,'  you  will  find  a  poor,  bird-limed 
canary,  just  ready  to  be  put  into  the  cage ;  and  myself, 
whom  you  left  rejoicing  in  the  year  of  jubilee,  you  will 


534  BREAD  ON  THE  WATERS. 

find  a  staid  old  gentleman  on  the  shady  side  of  fifty  ;  and 
Bertie  you  will  find  at  school  in  knickerbockers.  But  we 
shall  all  be  glad  to  see  you,  even  though  you  should  be  as 
tall  as  the  lamp-post,  and  so  learned  that  we  must  all 
speak  in  unknown  tongues. — Till  then,  I  remain,  your 
affectionate  father,  James  Hamilton." 

TO  HIS  WIFE. 

"London,  Feh.  6,  1865. 
"  Last  night  I  did  preach  for  j\Tr.  Chalmers  ;  and  Arnot 
had  a  fine  congregation  in  Eegent  Square.  On  my  return 
from  Marylebone,  one  of  the  office-bearers,  a  fine,  intel- 
ligent man,  about  six-and-thirty,  told  me  that  he  was  one 
of  a  dozen  of  the  older  boys  in  the  Caledonian  Asylum 
whom  I  used  to  have  at  tea  in  Lansdowne  Place ;  and 
mentioned  that  the  first  serious  impressions  he  had  were 
when  I  visited  the  school  and  gave  addresses  to  the  boys. 
These  produced  no  seeming  effect  at  the  moment,  but  he 
and  two  or  three  others  would  go  away  afterwards  and 
weep  bitterly.  They  joined  together  as  a  little  band  for 
prayer  and  reading  the  Bible,  and  most  of  them  have 
turned  out  well.  This  is  '  bread  on  the  waters '  found 
twenty-two  years  afterwards." 

"48  EusTON  Square,  Fth.  17,  1865. 
"  My  deaeest  Annie, — Yesterday  afternoon,  entertained 
at  tea  the  Piev.  E.  JM'All  of  Leicester,  who  had  come  up  to 
be  introduced  as  a  P.L.S.,  along  with  James  Smith  and 
your  friend  Carruthers.  Took  the  cab-full  down  to  Bur- 
lington House,  wdiere  we  had  a  pnper  on  'Vegetable 
Monstrosities ;'  then  went  from  the  Linntean  to  the  Eoyal 


SCIENTIFIC  SOCIETIES.  535 

Society,  wliere  a  paper  was  read  on  the  funny  behaviour 
of  atoms  in  leucate  of  zinc,  and  certain  compounds  whose 
very  names  I  never  'heard  tell  of;'  then  came  out  and 
took  a  second  tea  with  the  Fellows,  including  Dr.  Eaird, 
Joseph  Hooker,  and  other  friends,  old  and  new.  Thence 
to  Arthur  Kinuaird's  '  to  meet  Lord  Dalhousie ' — tea  the 
third." 

"48  EcjSToy  Square,  llarch  10,  1865. 

"  My  deak  William, —  .  .  .  Your  dear  good  Jane  is 
with  us  again,  having  returned  on  Tuesday.  She  is  a 
bright  and  pleasant  inmate,  but  I  fear  will  find  it  much 
duller  than  it  was  at  Christmas,  when  all  the  children 
had  their  holidays.  I  am  never  much  in  the  way  of  com- 
pany to  any  one,  and  the  last  few  weeks,  betwixt  writing 
papers  for  Macmillan  on  Erasmus,  and  a  set  of  lectures  on 
hymnology,  my  thoughts  have  been  for  the  most  part 
inside  the  foolscap.   .    .    . 

"  Like  ourselves,  you  have  had  a  severe  and  trying 
winter,  with  much  sickness  among  your  people.  In  four 
weeks  we  lost  five  elderly  members,  all  mothers  in  Israel. 
The  only  one  whom  you  would  know  was  Mrs.  Johnstone, 
of  Gower  Street. 

"  This  is  the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  little  James 
Walker,  fifteen  years  ago.  Dear  child  !  I  like  to  look  at 
his  bust,  there  is  in  it  so  much  of  Jane,  and  so  much  of 
those  'whose  angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of  your 
Father.' " 

These  papers  for  Macmillan  were  only  certain  feelers 
put  forth  in  the  direction  of  a  great  design,  to  ascertain 


536  PREPARATIONS  FOR  A  WORK 

for  himself  whether  it  might  he  possible.  The  desire  to 
write  the  life  and  times  of  Erasmus  was  a  passion,  cherished 
long  and  cherished  deeply.  With  a  view  to  it,  he  accom- 
plished a  great  amount  of  congenial  reading.  The  accumu- 
lations of  material  for  this  work  are  greater  than  for  any 
other,  whether  actually  accomplished  or  only  projected. 
Besides  many  items  in  the  ordinary  stores  of  Bibline,  a 
substantial  book  is  dedicated  exclusively  to  this  subject, 
and  is,  to  a  large  extent,  filled  with  extracts,  jottings, 
thoughts,  and  references.  It  is  a  curious  receptacle  :  it  is 
touching  to  peep  into  the  workshop,  now  that  the  ingenious 
and  busy  worker  is  gone.  His  net  had  been  spread  out  in 
all  directions,  and  frequently  drawn :  the  miscellaneous 
heaps  that  it  brought  up  at  successive  throws  are  carefully 
stowed  away ;  each  atom  in  its  own  place.  The  bones 
piled  up  in  this  apartment  are  very  many,  and,  to  the 
casual  observer,  they  seem  very  dry  ;  but  if  the  hand  that 
gathered  them  had,  for  a  few  years  longer,  retained  its 
cunning,  the  whole  might  have  been  compacted  into  one 
symmetric  organism,  covered  with  flesh,  and  heaving  with 
the  breath  of  life. 

With  James  Hamilton,  however,  this  passion  for  a  great 
literary  achievement  was  the  strong  man  overcome  and 
dispossessed  by  a  stronger.  The  ministry  of  the  Gospel, 
and  such  literature  as  directly  sprang  from  it,  dominated, 
and  held  other  aspirations  down.  It  was  "first  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness,"  and  such  other 
things  as  the  literature  of  the  Eeformation  period  were 
compelled  to  take  a  secondary  place. 

In  these  pajDers  for  MacmiUan,  and  in  a  lecture  before 


ON  THE  LIFE  OF  ERASMUS.  537 

the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  he  laid  down 
some  lines,  and  noted  some  facts;  but  the  great  design 
died  with  himself. 

His  own  journal,  however,  which  is  on  this  point  ex- 
plicit and  full,  will  tell  how  fondly  the  scheme  was 
cherished,  and  liow  reluctantly  it  was  abandoned  at  last. 

"  Maij  1 7, 1 S  65. — For  a  good  many  years  I  have  clierished 
a  hope  of  doing  something  towards  the  Life  and  Times  of 
Erasmus.  Tlie  subject  is  very  attractive,  and  with  trans- 
lations of  some  of  his  livelier  letters  and  the  more  amusing 
passages  in  his  colloquies,  I  fancy  it  might  have  been  made 
entertaining.  At  all  events,  I  should  have  liked  to  point 
out  his  special  position  and  service.  He  not  only  did  more 
than  any  other  man  towards  the  revival  of  letters,  but  he 
has  left  both  religion  and  philosophy  under  endless  obli- 
gations as  the  restorer  of  good  sense.  The  '  sound  mind,' 
the  love  of  the  practical,  the  true,  and  the  useful,  was  his 
distinguishing  characteristic,  and  it  was  this,  as  much  as 
the  love  of  the  beautiful,  which  carried  him  with  such 
ardour  into  the  study  of  classical  antiquity.  His  first 
great  book  w^as  the  Adages,  an  effort  to  bring  together  the 
sagacity  and  experimental  wisdom  of  all  ages ;  and  liis 
first  theological  treatise,  the  Enchiridion,  is  an  admirable 
attempt  to  exhibit  and  enforce  practical  Christianity,  dis- 
tinct from  trivial  observances  and  superstitious  adhesions. 
The  same  good  sense  runs  through  his  Fo^raflirase,  and, 
blended  with  exquisite  humour,  gives  enduring  value  to 
his  letters  and  more  sprightly  effusions, 

"For  this  very  cause,  some  do  not  like  him.  They  call 
him  a  rationalist,  and  the  father  of  them.     But  if  they 


538  REASONABLENESS  NOT  RATIONALISM. 

mean  that  he  was  an  unbeliever,  tliey  are  utterly  wrong. 
He  lacked  moral  courage,  and  his  nature  was  not  very 
emotional ;  but  within  the  limits  of  his  pretty  large  and 
comprehensive  creed,  he  seems  to  have  had  as  few  doubts 
as  other  men.  The  greater  part  of  Popery  he  tacitly  let 
go,  but  this  only  enabled  him  to  retain  with  more  un- 
questioning confidence  the  common  Christianity. 

"  From  Eationalism,  in  the  sense  of  an  irreverent  ignor- 
ing  of  the  supernatural,  I  revolt  with  all  my  heart  and  soul ; 
but  I  long  to  see  more  reasonableness  in  the  spiritual  and 
ecclesiastical  domain.  Some  hints  regarding  the  XoytKrj 
Xarpeia  might  have  been  given  in  connexion  with  Erasmus 
and  the  early  Reformers. 

"Besides,  it  would  have  been  very  pleasant  to  revise 
that  prodigious  range  of  literature,  patristic  and  classical, 
of  which  Erasmus  was  the  editor.  Owing  to  a  secluded 
boyhood,  and  unlimited  youthful  leisure,  Avitliout  ever 
attaining  accurate  scholarship,  I  have  read  in  these  de- 
partments more  tlian  most  people ;  and,  after  an  absti- 
nence of  a  quarter  of  a  century,  a  strange  longing  for  these 
books  returns.  Like  the  daisies  and  dandelions  that  come 
up  in  October,  it  is  the  feeble  revival  of  an  impossible 
spring.  For  after  giving  to  the  work  the  spare  hours  and 
the  autumn  holiday  of  the  last  two  or  three  years,  I  am 
constrained  to  abandon  the  task.  This  last  winter  had  no 
leisure,  and  in  the  congregation  a  childish  feud  about  the 
hymn-book  was  so  conducted  as  to  rob  me  of  rest  by  night 
and  peace  by  day ;  and,  perhaps  as  a  consequence  of  this, 
I  find  ray  elasticity  a  good  deal  impaired.  So  this  day, 
with  a  certain  touch  of  tenderness,  I  restored  the  eleven 


THE  LONG-CHERISHED  PROJECT  ABANDONED.     539 

tall  folios  to  the  shelf,  and  tied  up  my  memoranda,  and 
took  leave  of  a  project  which  has  sometimes  cheered  the 
hours  of  exhaustion,  and  the  mere  thought  of  which  has 
always  been  enough  to  overcome  my  natural  indolence. 
It  is  well ;  if  a  favourite  play,  it  was  also  a  great  tempta- 
tion. It  was  a  chance,  the  only  one  I  ever  hud,  of  attain- 
ing a  small  measure  of  literary  distinction ;  and  where 
there  is  so  much  'pride  and  haughtiness  of  heart/  it  is 
better  to  be  nnknown.  Like  the  congregation  of  the 
Gascon  preacher  who  had  forgotten  his  discourse,  the 
world  will  never  know  what  a  treat  it  has  lost;  and  not 
having  this  absorbent  for  spare  hours,  it  is  possible  that 
to  wife  and  children,  and  people,  there  may  be  a  gain  in 
the  abandonment  of  the  magnum  opus." 

In  all  his  papers  I  have  not  met  with  anything  more 
affecting  than  this  farewell.  It  is  a  right  arm  he  is  cut- 
ting off:  he  is  wrung  to  the  heart  by  the  deed,  and  yet 
with  his  own  hand  he  deliberately  performs  it.  How  sad 
and  tender,  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  is  his  allu- 
sion to  the  feeble  efforts  of  the  flowers  to  reproduce  in 
October  "  an  impossible  spring."  Already  he  felt  the  vital 
energies  beginning  to  ebb.  Yet,  sad  though  this  renun- 
ciation was,  his  obituary  notice  of  the  magnum  opus 
concludes  with  a  playful  aUnsion — a  smile  is  on  his 
countenance  as  he  announces  its  decease. 

FllOJt  THE  REV.  DR.  M'CRIE. 

"23  Rochester  Road,  March  13,  1865. 

"My  dear  Dr.  Hamilton, — The  Church  of  Scotland 
contemplated   from   the   beginning   the   addition  to  her 


540  HYMNS  IN  REFORMATION  TIMES. 

psalmody  of  '  other  scriptural  songs.'  The  proposal  was 
revived  in  1G45-1648,  after  the  Solemn  League  had  been 
sworn,  showing  that  they  did  not  consider  such  an  addi- 
tion would  be  any  infringement  of  her  'covenanted 
uniformity.'  The  proposal,  though  interrupted  by  the 
persecution,  was  renewed  as  soon  as  the  Church  obtained 
peace  at  the  Eevolution,  and  its  stopj^age  then  may  be 
traced  to  the  decline  of  public  and  personal  piety  in  Scot- 
land. Meanwhile  the  people,  accustomed  only  to  the 
Psalms,  acquired  for  our  Psalter  that  veneration  with 
which  they  regarded  all  that  had  been  practised  by  their 
persecuted  ancestors ;  and  the  Seceders  in  particular  re- 
garded adherence  to  it  as  part  of  the  '  covenanted  uni- 
formity,' wdiich  was  a  great  mistake.  Hence  '  tlie  con- 
scientious attacliment  to  the  Psalms' — an  attachment 
which  none  of  our  fathers  in  the  Scottish  Church,  at  any 
period  of  her  liistory,  till  the  middle  of  last  century,  would 
ever  have  dreamed  inconsistent  with  the  introduction  of 
other  Scripture  songs. — Ever  yours  truly, 

"  Thomas  M'Ceie." 

The  testimony  of  Dr.  M'Crie,  with  the  grounds  on 
which  his  judgment  rests,  should  settle  and  set  at  rest  the 
specific  question  on  which  it  bears.  Our  Presbyterian 
ancestors  did  not  consider  the  use  of  sacred  songs  in  pub- 
lic worship,  in  addition  to  the  Psalms,  any  dereliction  of 
duty,  or  any  contravention  of  Scripture. 

"  SuNNYSiDE,  Liverpool,  Ajir'd  18,  1865. 
"  My  deahest  Annie, — There  were  five  of  us — Messrs. 
Watson,  Duncan,  Lewis,  General  Shortrede,  and  myself; 


DR.  LIVINGSTONE.  541 

besides  a  gentleman  unknown,  but  wlio — as  he  was  read- 
ing Stirling's  account  of  Hegel's  philosophy,  and  gave  me 
a  very  intelligible  account  of  it — must  have  been  a  meta- 
physician. We  arrived  at  half-past  eight,  in  time  for  half 
an  hour  of  the  Synod ;  then  here  to  a  hearty  supper ;  and 
now,  after  a  famous  sleep,  the  like  of  which  I  trust  you 
also  had,  I  am  tijiping  off  this  telegram  at  half-past  eight, 
and  when  they  are  already  waiting  for  me  down-stairs. 
Adieu.  Love  to  aU.  Be  good  (children),  be  happy 
(wife),  and  beheve  me,  your  ever  affectionate  husband, 

"  James  Hamilton." 

from  de.  livingstone. 

"  Burn  Bank  Road,  Hamilton, 
June  21,  1865. 

"  My  dear  Dr.  Hamilton, —  .  .  .  We  shall  come  to 
London  about  the  middle  of  next  week.  I  am  much 
obliged  by  your  very  kind  offer,  but  I  am  doubtful  if  I 
would  not  be  doing  you  a  great  injury.  I  am  so  irregular 
in  my  hours  that  your  house  might  get  a  bad  name. 
Agnes  and  I  were  out  too  often  past  elders'  hours,  and  we 
finished  up  at  the  hotel  by  getting  Punch  and  Judy  ex- 
hibited before  tliree  black  boys  brought  home  by  Colonel 
Eigby.  Mrs.  Storey  knew  not  we  were  going  off  next  day, 
or  I  believe  we  should  have  had  notice  to  '  send  ourselves.' 
I  shaU  be  delighted  to  meet  Dr.  Duff  and  Lady  Pirie,  but 
you  must  take  the  matter  into  consideration.  I  don't 
know  that  we  shall  misbehave,  but  you  have  full  warning 
as  to  what  we  are  capable  of. — With  kind  regards  to  Mrs. 
Hamilton,  yours,  etc.,  D.  L." 


542  DR.  LIVINGSTONE 

Dr.  Livingstone  accomplished  his  visit.  It  was  a  great 
enjoyment  to  both,  and  resulted  in  a  fast  friendship.  One 
sees  at  a  glance,  on  the  face  of  this  familiar  note,  that  the 
great  explorer  enjoyed  a  buoyant,  playful,  youthfid  spirit, 
— indeed,  if  he  liad  not  possessed  such  a  measure  of  light- 
ness (which  is  all  the  heavens  different  from  Icvitij),  he 
would  not  have  been  a  gi'eat  explorer.  Sprightliness  in 
conversation  is  often  the  external  expression  of  the  spring 
within  which  constitutes  the  strenuth  of  a  strong  man. 
Livingstone  and  Hamilton  laboured  in  very  different 
spheres,  but  w^ere  congenial  spirits. 

FKOM  DR.  LIVINGSTONE. 
"On  board  S.S.  'Massilia,'  Aurj.  25,  IS65, 

"My  dear  Dr.  Hamilton, — I  enclose  some  stuff  in 
accordance  with  your  suggestion,  and  I  fear  that  you  wiU 
feel  that  you  have  made  a  bad  bargain.  It  will  require 
no  end  of  polishing,  erasure,  and  transformation,  and 
when  you  have  done  aU  to  it  that  it  needs  you  wiU  say — 
'Bless  the  fellow,  it  would  have  been  better  to  have 
written  it  all  myself.'  I  am  trusting  that  my  friend,  Mrs. 
Hamilton,  will  interjaculate — '  Serves  you  right.' 

"David  Livingstone." 

"P.  &  0.  S.S.  '  Massilia,'  Aug.  2G,  1865. 

"  :My  dear  Friend,— I  sent  you  from  Malta,  or  rather 
sent  ashore  at  Malta,  twenty-eight  pages  intended  for 
you.  I  could  not  pay  the  postage,  for  we  were  treated 
like  a  lot  of  unclean  beasts.  The  Maltese  would  not  take 
anything  from  us  except  at  the  end  of  long  poles,  and 


I^^  THE  MEDITERKANEAN.  543 

tongs  were  used  to  open  tlie  boxes  at  the  end  of  the  same. 
Nobody  durst  touch  anything  belonging  to  us.  .  ,  .  Ten 
days'  quarantine.  Cholera  was  in  Marseilles,  and  we  were 
supposed  to  be  infected.  We  had  a  line  of  boats  round 
us  all  night  and  day.  The  only  chance  of  getting  the 
letters  home  was  by  putting  them  into  th&  sliip's  boats 
unstamped;  so  I  hope  my  letter  reached  you,  if  not,  it 
may  still  be  in  quarantine  in  Malta.  We  shall  reach  Alex- 
andria this  day,  Saturday,  about  three  p.m.,  and  go  through 
to  Suez  to-night.  Cholera  was  bad  there ;  sixteen  engi- 
neers died  on  the  line  of  railway,  but  it  is  said  to  be  over 
now,  and  we  go  from  the  steamer  into  the  railway  cars, 
and  off  soon  after  we  land, — Yours  affectionately, 

"  David  Livingstone." 

The  intrepid  traveller  was  then  starting  on  the  journey 
which  has  not  ended  yet.  Hope  of  his  ultimate  return 
has  now  revived  after  it  had  been  almost  extinguished. 
In  the  middle  of  1868  he  had  been  two  years  in  the  lieart 
of  Africa  without  a  word  from  home.  Of  the  many  tid- 
ings that  will  reach  his  ear,  when  at  last  his  relations 
with  home  are  renewed,  not  the  least  sad  will  be  the 
removal  of  that  like-minded  brother  to  whom  he  sent 
back  these  letters  from  Malta  and  Egypt. 

Dr.  Hamilton's  holiday  this  autumn  was  interrupted  by  a 
great  sorrow,  a  severe  and  dangerous  accident  to  his  eldest 
son,  a  boy  about  fourteen  years  of  age.  One  signal  providen- 
tial alleviation  he  gladly  and  thankfully  recognised, — that 
the  injury,  which  was  critical  and  painful,  and  needed  much 
patient  watching,  was  received  while  they  sojourned  under 


544  ACCIDENT  TO  DP..  HAMILTON'S  SON 

the  roof  of  j\Irs.  Strong,  who  with  her  sister,  Miss  Margaret 
Jaffray,  contributed  from  an  old  deep  fund  of  love  such 
nursing  as  the  wealth  of  a  kingdom  could  not  have  bought. 
The  fnendship  had  its  root  in  spiritual  instruction  imparted 
and  received  during  that  brief  but  precious  ministry  at 
Abernyte.  The  reciprocal  affection  that  subsisted  between 
the  members  of  that  family  and  Dr.  Hamilton  was  alto- 
gether paternal ;  for  him  it  lasted  a  lifetime,  for  his  widow 
and  children  it  survives  unimpaired  to  this  hour. 

Mrs.  Strong,  with  her  daughter,  and  occasionally  her 
sister,  occupied  the  manor-house  of  Quarter,  Stirlingshire, 
as  a  country  residence. 

"  Quarter  House,  Denny,  Oct.  lOth,  1865. — We  left  Lon- 
don on  the  14th  of  August.  Never  was  there  a  more 
perfect  holiday.  Except  two  or  three  trifling  engagements 
there  was  nothing  to  invade  the  leisure  here,  and  at  Tigh- 
nabruaich  and  Stonehouse  we  were  perfectly  at  home  ;  the 
weather  was  wonderful,  and  morning  by  morning  the 
children  woke  up  to  the  sunshine  and  spen4i  in  the  open 
air  the  livelong  day ;  and  many  a  time  had  we  repeated 
to  one  another  our  amazement  at  such  unbroken  health 
and  happiness.  We  had  arranged  to  return  on  Friday, 
September  29th,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  previous  day 
we  dissuaded  the  boys  (James  and  his  cousin)  from  going 
to  fish  in  the  Carron,  lest  they  should  get  damp  feet  and 
catch  cold  on  the  eve  of  our  home-going.  Instead  of  the 
river  they  went  to  the  wood,  and  at  dusk  James  was 
carried  in  by  the  coachman  death-like  and  pale.  He  had 
been  climbing  the  highest  of  the  beech  trees,  and  had 
fallen  from  a  height  of  sixty-two  feet.     His  descent  had 


BY  A  FALL  FROM  A  TREE.  .545 

been  interrupted  by  only  one  small  branch,  wliicb.  broke 
away  with  him,  but  which  so  far  turned  him  from  the  head- 
long direction  that  he  ahghted  on  the  breadth  of  his  back. 
The  preservation  of  his  life  is  an  interposition  of  Provi- 
dence to  be  held  by  us  in  perpetual  remembrance,  and 
what  is  still  more  wonderful  no  bone  has  been  broken — 
unless  it  should  prove  that  one  of  the  vertebrae  is  fractured. 
He  now  lies  on  his  back,  with  the  motor  nerves  of  one  side 
paralysed,  and  I  fear  not  yet  out  of  danger.  As  regards 
plans,  our  position  is  one  of  blank  uncertainty.  Even 
should  all  proceed  favourably  it  must  be  a  long  time  before 
the  poor  invalid  can  be  moved,  and  a  long  time  of  watch- 
ing and  nursing  awaits  his  dear  mother.  Even  in  this 
trial  mercies  abound.  There  is  no  friend  under  whose 
roof  we  could  have  rather  chosen  to  be.  The  house  is 
now  more  ours  than  Mrs.  Strong's ;  that  good  angel,  Miss 
Margaret,  is  the  best  of  nurses,  and  servants  and  all  forget 
fatigue,  and  I  never  before  felt  so  deeply  the  sustaining 
power  there  is  in  sympathy.  As  regards  the  sufferer  him- 
self, I  trust  this  will  also  prove  for  the  best." 

"Quarter,  Oct.  2,  1865. 
"My  dear  Minnie,^ — This  morning  James  is  greatly 
better.  At  this  moment  (10  a.m.)  I  am  writing  beside  liim, 
whilst  he  is  reading  his  book,  and  whilst  mamma,  who, 
along  with  Miss  Margaret  Jaffray,  watched  him  during  the 
night,  is  getting  some  sleep.  He  has  made  more  progress 
than  I  could  have  hoped  after  such  a  fall ;  but  the  bruises 
on  his  legs  require  some  one  to  be  always  at  hand  to  rub 

1  Annie. 
2  M 


546  SCENE  AT  DAWN. 

them  or  change  their  position,  or  do  wliatever  the  feeling 
of  the  moment  requires.  It  is  very  interesting  to  watch 
the  waking  of  the  creatures — a  sight  which  now-a-days  I 
seldom  see;  but  yesterday  I  rose  at  five,  so  as  to  give 
mamma  some  sleep.  It  was  a  dull,  mild  Sabbath  morning, 
the  trees  somewhat  tinted,  as  befits  the  first  of  October, 
but  not  a  leaf  stirring  in  the  dim  calm  air.  The  oxen  in 
the  park  were  the  first  to  rise,  and  very  diligently  did 
they  mouth  up  the  plentiful  grass,  which  was  all  the  wel- 
comer  for  being  wet  with  dew,  as  the  early  night  had  been 
clear,  and  this  season  the  cattle  can  scarcely  get  a  drop  to 
drink.  It  grew  a  little  clearer,  and  as  I  looked  out  at  the 
open  window  there  was  a  sudden  flutter  of  a  sweet- 
chestnut  branch,  and  a  low  '  tchuk,  tchuk,'  as  a  squirrel 
jumped  out  of  bed,  and  called  his  neighbour,  another 
squirrel,  who  came  slowly  and  rather  sleepily  down  a  tall 
larch.  They  soon  began  to  gambol  and  play  Blondin  from 
branch  to  branch  and  from  tree  to  tree,  scattering  leaves 
and  drops  of  dew,  and  awakening  finches,  blackcaps, 
linnets,  thrushes,  and  no  end  of  little  birds,  who,  although 
some  of  them  looked  a  little  surprised  for  the  moment, 
soon  commenced  twittering  and  congratulating  one  another 
on  the  new  day,  and  then  began  to  look  after  their  break- 
fasts. But  the  post  has  just  come  in,  bringing  me  twenty- 
two  letters.  If  you  do  not  hear  till  you  get  mamma's 
Friday  epistle,  you  may  conclude  that  we  are  going  on 
favourably.  Here,  as  you  know,  we  have  all  that  kindness 
can  provide,  and  we  have  only  goodness  and  mercy  to  sing 
of. — ^Ever  your  affectionate  father,  James  Hamilton. 
"  We  do  not  hope  to  get  home  this  week." 


TRAVELLING  BETWEEN  LONDON  AND  SCOTLAND.    547 

It  became  now  a  severe  aggravation  of  the  father's  trial 
that  his  child  lay  in  a  critical  condition  in  Scotland,  while 
he  could  not  long  be  absent  from  his  ministry  in  London. 
His  plan,  to  some  extent  actually  executed,  was  to  spend 
part  of  each  week  in  London  and  part  in  Scotland, — more 
than  400  miles  away. 

TO  IMR.  WATSON. 

"Quarter,  Oct.  18,  1865. 

"  James  I  found  looking  better.  He  gave  an  eager  wel- 
come to  the  grapes  which  I  brought  from  Mrs.  Watson, 
and  as  I  had  also  some  from  Mrs.  Marshall,  he  is  now 
plentifully  supplied.  They  had  got  on  pretty  well  during 
my  absence,  but  on  Saturday  night  violent  palpitation 
came  on,  and  at  last  they  all  got  so  anxious  that  they  sent 
for  the  doctor.  It  has  twice  returned,  but  yielded  to  the 
prescription.  There  is  yet  no  restoration  of  nervous 
activity. 

"  For  the  remainder  of  the  year  I  think  I  must  count 
on  mine  being  mainly  a  preaching  ministry, — that  is, 
after  the  Communion,  for  a  month  or  two,  I  would  like  to 
be  here  as  much  as  possible.  I  foresee  nothing  to  hinder 
my  going  up  on  the  Friday  evening  or  Saturday,  preach- 
ing on  Sabbath,  and  returning  on  Monday  morning  or 
night,  thus  spending  one  or  two  working  days  each  week 
besides  the  Sabbath  in  town,  as  the  case  might  require. 

TO  HIS  WIFE. 

"  October  28,  1865,  in  the  train. 

"  My  dear  Annie, — I  hope  that  you  and  Aunt  Maggie 
got  no  cold  from  standing  so  long  in  the  shrubbery,  and 


548  "WORDS  ON  WHEELS," 

waving  yonr  envoi.  I  was  surprised  to  find  the  roads 
hard-frozen  except  in  the  shade,  but  passing  through 
Denny  there  were  not  a  few  hare  little  feet  toddling  on 
the  icy  path.  Nearly  opposite  Dunipace  House  were  six 
oxen  lying  dead  in  a  field,  and  with  their  drooped  heads 
neither  browsing  nor  ruminating, — most  of  the  survivors 
looked  sickly.  I  am  here  all  alone  in  a  second  class 
carriage,  and  hope  to  post  my  letter  at  Carlisle  or  Preston. 
It  is  a  lovely  day,  and  I  feel  so  much  the  better  of  the 
journey  that  I  hope  Mrs.  Strong  as  well  as  you  will 
arrange  to  get  an  airing.  In  your  sermon  on  well-being 
and  well-doing  you  must  have  a  paragraph  on  this.  It  is 
not  only  the  open  air — the  oxygen — which  is  exhilarating 
and  strengthening,  but  the  large  space  gives  an  amplifica- 
tion to  our  existence  ;  and,  like  a  collier  coming  up  from 
his  mine,  it  is  good  to  quit  the  work-room  or  sick-room 
for  the  garden  or  the  public  road.  It  seems  to  bring  us 
at  once  nearer  our  neighbours  and  nearer  God.  Your  task 
just  now  is  peculiar  and  trying ;  but  if  we  are  enabled  to 
wait  the  Lord's  leisure,  I  have  no  doubt  that  some  great 
enlargement  will  follow.  My  love  abides  with  all  at 
Quarter,  Mrs.  'Strong's  kindness  and  Miss  Margaret's 
are  something  that  should  never  be  forgotten  in  the  his- 
tory of  Christian  friendship.  Like  the  Ocliils,  the  hills  of 
Lanarkshire  and  Dumfries  are  all  powdered  with  snow. 
And  now,  my  only  darling,  the  God  of  love  be  with  you. 
Eat  well,  and  sleep  well,  and  keep  well.  When  I  get  to 
town  I  mast  make  inquiry  as  to  the  means  of  transport 
for  invalids,  so  that  when  the  time — God's  good  time — 
comes,  we  may  know  how  to  proceed. — Your  ever  affec- 
tionate husband,  James  Hai\iilton." 


OE  SERMONS  WRITTEN  IN  THE  TRAIN.  549 

"  Nov.  18,  1865,  in  the  train. 

"My  deaeest  Annie, — "VVe  are  nearing  Preston,  and 
having  had  a  basin  of  soup  at  Carlisle,  I  am  preparing  to 
attack  the  sandwiches.  IMy  neighbour  with  tlie  broken 
arm  is  quiet  and  peaceable,  and  does  not  interrupt  me, 
and  there  are  no  more  of  us.  I  have  finished  my  sermon 
with  nearly  five  hours'  writing,  and  think  I  shall  bring 
out  as  '  Words  on  Wheels'  a  volume  of  sermons  railway- 
written.  The  first  of  this  kind  which  I  did  v/as  on  a  very 
sad  day — the  Saturday  that  I  left  dear  Jane  dying  at  Carn- 
wath  under  the  care  of  mamma,  and  the  then  as  ever  tender 
and  true  Aunt  jMargaret.  It  is  also  twenty-five  years  to-day, 
or  yesterday,  since  leaving  Abernyte,  I  returned  to  Edin- 
burgh with  the  purpose  of  never  more  leaving  that  beautiful 
city.  A  short-sighted  and  short-lived  purpose  !  Had  it 
been  adhered  to,  I  should  have  missed  the  great  long 
happiness  of  the  last  nineteen  years.  You  too  would  have 
missed  nursing  a  broken-backed  laddie,  and  would  not 
have  been  bothered  with  a  husband  running  up  and  down 
to  town  to  preach  and  attend  Church  Extension  meetings. 
I  hope  you  will  make  up  to-night  for  your  early  rising. 
It  is  not  nice  in  winter.  Since  leaving  Lanarkshire  the 
day  proves  mild  and  softly  bright,  and  I  am  very  com- 
fortable. And  now,  with  much  love  to  all  around  you, 
and  praying  that  the  God  of  peace  and  love  may  be  with 
you,  I  remain,  dearest,  your  ever  affectionate  husband, 

"  J.  Hamilton." 

"  Quarter,  Nov.  29,  1865. — On  Monday  I  entered  my 
fifty- second  year,  3X17  =  51  ;  other  seventeen  years  would 


550  .  SYMPTOMS  OF  OLD  AGE. 

bring  me  on  to  sixty-eiglit,  and  I  fancy  that  this  is  pretty 
nearly  what  an  actuary  would  assign  as  my  '  expecta- 
tion of  life.'  Even  this  I  cannot  say  that  I  expect,  and 
it  is  solemn  and  somewhat  mournful  to  think  that  three- 
fourths  of  existence  are  past  already.  Within  the  last 
few  months  I  have  got  a  pair  of  spectacles,  and  the  smaller 
kinds  of  print  I  cannot  read  without  them.  Other  tokens 
of  on-coming  old  age  will  follow ;  indeed,  they  have  come 
already.  The  figurative  language  I  was  once  so  fond  of,  I 
have  nearly  lost  all  liking  for,  and  if  I  were  following  my 
own  bent  in  preaching,  it  would  be  sober,  explanatory, 
unimpassioned.  Ambition  has  given  place  to  indolence, 
and  the  grand  projects  with  which  I  used  to  cheat  myself 
I  have  ceased  to  cherish.  Sydney  Smith  beguiled  his  lazy 
horse  into  a  quicker  pace  by  fastening  a  sieve  of  oats  to  a 
pole  a  little  in  advance  of  the  creature's  nose  ;  and  through 
many  a  dreary  day  of  calls  and  committees,  and  dry  as 
dust  documents,  have  I  been  carried  by  the  hope  that  if  I 
could  only  get  through  them,  I  might  lawfully  commence 
the  Magnum  Opus,  Christian  Ethics,  The  Life  of  Erasmus, 
A  Mind,  and  what  to  make  of  it.  But  now  the  corn  and 
beans  are  rattled  in  vain,  and  there  is  no  make-believe  in 
the  wisp  of  clover.  Eeports,  circulars,  business  letters, 
forty  or  fifty  a  week,  I  write  resignedly,  and  in  the  usual 
dull  decent  fashion  in  which  such  things  should  be  done, 
and  so  shall  continue  till  this  hand  forgets  its  cunning. 

"  As  far  as  extensive  or  abiding  service  goes,  and  as 
regards  any  fitting  memorial  of  my  own  tastes  and  pur- 
suits, the  opportunity  is  gone,  and  in  the  regrets  of  this  mo- 
ment I  fear  there  is  quite  as  much  of  mortified  vanity  as  ot 


SELF-INSPECTION.  551 

the  more  appropriate  feeling.  But  when  I  advert  to  that 
work  of  the  ministry,  which  was  my  calling,  and  such  a 
high  one,  and  when  I  think  of  my  own  walk  through  the 
midst  of  men,  I  see  that  my  life  has  been  a  continual  sliort- 
coming.  No  worthy  motive,  no  deed  out-and-out  well  done, 
recurs  to  my  comfort ;  and  were  it  not  that  the  possibility 
of  these  lines  being  read  by  others  is  a  temptation  to 
voluntary  humihty,  I  might  enumerate  many  sins  which 
did  easily  beset  me,  some  of  which  seem  only  to  have 
strengthened  with  the  years.  But  whosoever  may  read 
these  lines,  I  desire  to  record  as  my  only  comfort  the  truth 
wliich  I  have  proclaimed  to  others.  I  believe  in  the 
forgiveness  of  sins.  I  believe  in  the  mercy  of  God,  and  in 
the  exhaustless  efficacy  of  the  great  Atonement ;  and  al- 
though it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  such  earthliness 
can  be  made  at  home  in  heaven,  yet  moments  of  a  happier 
experience  sometimes  enable  me  to  hope  for  a  sphere 
where  God's  service  will  be  the  true  self-indulgence — when 
in  God's  purest  light  there  will  be  nothing  to  conceal; 
where,  in  the  superiority  of  otliers  to  one's -self,  will  be 
nothing  to  awaken  detraction  or  envy  ;  where  love  will  be 
pure  and  gratitude  permanent,  and  amidst  just  men  made 
perfect,  virtues  may  evolve  of  which  at  present  I  do  not 
see  so  much  as  the  germ,  and  evils  pass  away  so  old  and 
inveterate  that  I  do  not  remember  their  beginning. 

"  Life  has  been  full  of  God's  goodness.  A  kinder  mother, 
a  father  of  loftier  worth  and  nobler  ways  of  thinking,  no 
one  ever  had.  The  first  years  at  college  were  desultory,  but 
the  whole  were  happy.  Coming  to  Eegent  Square,  if  it  was 
an  empty  church,  it  was  a  noble  building,  and  one  known 


552  NUMBERING  MEECIES. 

by  name  to  Scotclimen  and  others ;  and  there  were  rare' 
men  in  its  Session.  Mr.  Nisbet's  ardour  was  very  animat- 
ing ;  there  never  was  a  man  at  once  so  sagacious  and  so 
tender-hearted  as  William  Hamilton ;  Mr.  Gillespie  and 
others  were  men  of  large  intelligence  and  public  spirit ; 
and  without  much  shrewdness  of  my  own,  I  have  usually 
been  able  to  see  what  is  wrong  and  right  when  propounded 
by  others.  A  congregation  has  gathered  round  me,  not 
such  as  frequent  the  popular  preacher,  but  one  which  I 
prefer,  comprising  many  interesting  and  right-hearted 
young  men,  many  serious  and  attentive  hearers,  and  not 
a  few  of  the  most  delightful  and  congenial  friends.  To 
crown  all,  I  have  such  a  home  as  I  scarcely  thought  could 
be  realized  in  a  world  of  sin  and  sorrow.  Children  of 
various  dispositions,but  onlymade  more  interesting  by  tlieii' 
distinct  individuality,  all  loving  and  all  promising ;  and 
a  dear  partner,  God's  best  earthly  gift,  whose  only  fault 
is  that  excessive  affection  which  may  lead  to  overmuch 
sorrow." 

"48  EusTON  Square,  Dec.  9,  1865. 
"After  ten  weeks'  nursing  we  obtained  a  hesitating 
authorisation  from  the  doctor,  and  determined  to  try  the 
removal  home  of  our  patient.  With  the  spinal  injuries 
he  has  sustained,  the  prospect  was  very  formidable ;  but 
through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Russell  everything  was  done 
to  complete  and  make  comfortable  the  invalid  carriage, 
which  we  had  ordered  from  Euston  Square,  and,  over  and 
above,  Mr.  Johnstone  had  constructed  a  spring  mattress, 
which  could  be  also  used  as  a  litter  or  stretcher  in  carrying 
him  from  the  house  to  the  train.     It  was  on  Wednesday 


THE  INVALID  BROUGHT  HOME.  553 

morning,  the  6tli,  tliat  the  experiment  was  to  be  made. 
Everybody  was  early  astir,  and  in  the  lobby  and  all  the 
rooms  of  Quarter,  the  fires  had  been  kept  on  all  night.  At 
seven,  when  we  set  forth,  the  short  mid- winter  day  had 
not  begun  to  dawn.  Mrs.  Strong  and  the  servants,  all 
wishing  us  good  speed,  yet  looking  very  sad,  stood  outside 
the  door,  and  were  soon  lost  in  the  darkness  :  and  as  the 
porters  carried  their  living  freight  down  the  avenue, 
and  Miss  Margaret  and  "William  Crombie  walked  on  either 
side,  I  could  not  help  feeling  what  a  much  sadder  pro- 
cession it  might  have  been.  Great  heaps  of  fallen  leaves 
lay  rotting  on  the  path,  which,  when  we  first  arrived, 
was  sultry  with  sunshine ;  and  from  the  grass  fields  the 
picturesque  oxen,  black,  brown,  dun,  and  dappled  had 
been  removed  for  fear  of  the  rinderpest.  It  was  a  strange 
sight  when  we  opened  the  Ingleston  station — a  passenger 
carriage,  where  none  such  had  ever  been  before,  an  omnibus 
in  the  field  beside  it,  both  made  visible  by  their  own 
lamps,  and  the  furnace  light  of  the  neighlDouring  colliery, 
and  a  few  scarcely  discernible  figures  awaiting  our 
approach  in  silence.  A  grimy  collier,  who,  without 
speaking  a  word,  came  forward  to  help  into  the  carriage 
our  mysterious  burden,  asked  in  a  whisper,  '  How  long 
has  he  been  dead  ? '  This  most  difiicult  part  of  the  transit 
was  safely  effected,  and  in  sixteen  hours  we  were  home. 
Blessings  on  the  dear  friends  who  have  done  all  that  the 
most  devoted  kindness  could  do  to  brighten  this  sojourn. 
And  blessed  be  the  Lord  who  has  brought  back  the  exiles, 
and  who  keeps  our  company  still  unbroken.  What  a 
strange  thing  is   emotion,  and  how  little  we  can  count 


554      "  FORGET  NOT  ALL  HIS  BENEFITS." 

upon  ourselves  !  After  having  had  to  face  the  possibility 
of  leaving  James  and  his  mother,  and  the  whole  house- 
hold, the  entire  winter  in  Scotland,  not  to  speak  of  a 
sadder  alternative  to  which  we  could  not  shut  our  eyes, 
I  should  have  expected  that  Wednesday  would  have  been 
a  day  of  great  elation  and  excitement ;  but  beyond  the 
sober  certainty,  and  a  quiet  thankfulness,  there  was 
nothing  of  that  restless  joy  or  overflowing  gratitude  which 
ought  to  have  been.  And  when,  at  the  Euston  terminus, 
the  Watsons,  and  Mr.  Johnstone,  and  Mr.  Hill,  and  others, 
came  round  us  on  the  platform,  instead  of  falling  on  their 
necks  and  weeping,  I  do  believe  it  was  less  ardent  than 
our  usual  meeting.  Fatigue  might  have  something  to  do 
with  it,  but  it  looks  as  if,  after  a  long  pressure  or  weight 
— a  ten  weeks'  tension — the  mind  lost  something  of  its 
spring ;  and  even  when  the  burden  is  taken  off,  it  does 
not  necessarily  rebound  at  once  to  its  former  level.  In- 
deed, acute  feeling  or  excited  emotion  of  any  kind  is 
seldom  of  long  continuauce."^ 

1  A  note  addressed  at  a  subsequent  date  to  Mr.  D.  Maclagan,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  his  leaving  London  to  settle  in  Edinburgh,  reveals  incidentally  the 
vivid  brotherly  love  that  subsisted  between  him  and  his  fellow-workers.  Mr. 
Maclagan  was  associated  with  him  especially  in  the  church -building  and  debt- 
extinction  movement : — 

"  July  31,  1866. 

"  My  DEAR  Mr.  Maclagan, — Your  abode  in  London  has  been  a  great  lift  to 
the  good  cause  in  England,  and  although  we  have  no  longer  amongst  us  your 
wise  counsels,  and  your  wonderful  power  of  working,  the  good  impulse  will  go 
on,  aud  it  is  very  pleasant  to  know  that  we  have  in  Edinburgh  such  a  friend  and 
ally.  I  sometimes  wish  that  all  the  leaders  of  opinion  in  Scotland  could  sojourn 
here  for  a  time  : — Not  that  England  has  much  to  give  to  Scotland  religiously, 
far  less  ecclesiastically  ;  but  I  do  not  see  how  Presbyterianism  can  ever  become 
oecumenical  without  taking  more  into  account  the  tastes  and  temperaments  of 
different  nations.  One  good  result  of  your  change,  I  trust,  may  be  improve- 
ment to  the  health  of  Mrs.;  Maclagan.  Please  to  give  her  my  kind  regards. 
The  Lord  be  with  you  aud  yoursj  and  ble.ss  you  more  and  more.  Believe  me 
ever  yoius  most  truly,  James  Hamilton." 


CHAPTEE  Xlir. 

LATEST  YEARS. 

Althouge  Dr.  Hamilton's  memory  had  nothing  of  the 
prodigious  in  its  character,  he  was  able,  through  a  very 
vivid  association  of  ideas,  to  recall  events  and  circum- 
stances from  a  deep  past,  and  make  them  march  in  line 
under  the  light  of  the  present  for  the  purpose  of  being 
reviewed  and  re-judged.  Tliese  reminiscences,  when  some 
current  fact  called  them  up,  were  always  lively  and  pic- 
turesque, and  always  turned  to  some  practical  account. 

"When  an  effort  was  made,  a  few  years  ago,  by  the  lead- 
ing men  of  Glasgow  to  collect  money  for  the  erection  of 
that  superb  palace  which  now  crowns  an  eminence  on  the 
western  margin  of  the  city,  nearly  ready  to  receive  from 
the  old  dingy  tenement  in  the  High  Street  the  whole 
living  corporation  of  the  College,  a  circular  soliciting  sub- 
scriptions was  addressed,  among  others,  to  the  minister  of 
Eegent  Square.  This  was  precisely  the  kind  of  circum- 
stance that  was  fitted  to  touch  the  wire,  and  call  forth,  as 
if  by  telegraphic  despatch,  all  his  own  experience  as  a 
student  at  Glasgow.  The  result  was  a  paper,  in  the  form 
of  a  leader  in  a  London  weekly,  commending  heartily  the 


556  GLASGOW  COLLEGE. 

scheme,  but  also  throwing  out  some  caustic  liints  regard- 
ing past  delinquencies  and  future  reforms. 

The  panorama  of  the  past,  which  rises  here  as  by  the 
touch  of  a  magician's  wand,  is  an  almost  startling  spec- 
tacle. This  inexorable  conjuror  compels  the  spirits  to 
come  from  the  vasty  deep,  each  in  the  costume  and  cha- 
racter he  was  wont  to  wear.  The  brilliant  and  the  dull, 
the  more  and  the  less  respectable,  must  march  past  in 
this  royal  review,  and  each  must  be  valued  at  what  he  is 
worth. 

Believing  that  this  paper  is  of  very  great  historical  and 
critical  value,  we  subjoin  all  the  more  important  portions 
of  it,  omitting  only  one  or  two  pungent  allusions,  and  some 
unimportant  details  at  the  close.  It  is  valuable  equally 
in  a  subjective  and  an  objective  point  of  view  :  in  sketch- 
ing the  College  he  incidentally  exhibits  himself : — 

"  Oct.  28,  1865. 

"  Thirty  years  have  passed  away  since  we  put  off  the  red 
robe  of  the  Glasgow  student,  and  took  a  regretful  leave  of 
the  quaint  old  quadrangles,  where  every  form  Avas  familiar. 
It  was  a  cosy,  warm-hearted  College.  The  students  Avere 
very  clannish.  They  drew  close  together,  and,  amidst  all 
their  rivalries,  they  were  proud  of  one  another ;  and  like  most 
other  coteries,  had  great  confidence  in  their  collective  destiny. 
It  was  the  period  of  the  Reform  Bill,  and  whilst  some  fore- 
saw that  henceforward  patronage  would  avail  little  without 
personal  merit,  a  larger  number  felt  the  exhilarating,  ani- 
mating influence  Avhich  attends  a  great  eiioch,  and  burned 
their  midnight  oil,  or  declaimed  in  their  mimic  parliament, 
like  men  on  the  threshold  of  a  new  and  brilliant  dispensation. 

"  But  youthful  hoj)es  and  sanguine  prophecies  are  not  al- 
ways fulfilled.  Over  several  of  the  most  talented  and  ardent 
the  grave  was  soon  to  close — Perrot  and  Lamont,  Colquhoun 


EMINENT  STUDENTS — PROFESSORS.  557 

and  Halley,  Blackburn  and  Morell  Mackenzie ;  and  amongst 
those  who  survived  some  lost  their  health,  others  missed  their 
opportunity,  and  a  few,  it  is  to  be  feared,  grew  lazy,  or 
wrong-headed,  or  careless  about  their  character,  and  are  now 
somewhere  or  other  buried  alive.  But  Archibald  Smith  went 
to  Cambridge  and  became  senior  wrangler;  Tait  went  to 
Oxford  and  became  a  first-class  man  and  a  bishop  ;  Joseph 
Hooker  went  to  the  South  Pole,  or  pretty  near  it,  and  became 
the  foremost  man  among  British  botanists  ;  Richardson,  of 
Newcastle,  went  to  Giessen,  and  became  the  favourite  pupil 
of  Liebig,  and  the  most  comprehensive  and  encyclopsedic  of 
our  chemists ;  Cotton  Mather  went  to  India,  and  became  one 
of  the  most  accurate  of  modern  Orientalists;  and  Philip 
Bailey  went  back  to  England,  and  although  he  might  have 
■written  something  better  than  Festiis,  we  do  not  think  that 
he  became  by  any  means  the  worst  of  our  poets. 

"  Looking  over  lists,  medical,  clerical,  civic,  it  is  still  flat- 
teringj  amidst  our  own  obscurity,  to  mark  amid  the  lights  of 
the  nation  many  who  were  our  contemporaries  in  those  dis- 
tant days  at  Glasgow  College.  They  were  eager,  high  hearted 
students,  and  on  the  whole  had  excellent  instructors.  True, 
Dr.  James  Couper  was  the  Professor  of  Astronomy,  and  if  he 
had  any  acquaintance  with  the  heavenly  bodies,  it  was  quite 
unknown  to  earthly  observers ;  but  as  he  never  attempted  to 
lecture,  he  was  saved  from  those  outbursts  of  juvenile  mischief 
which  converted  the  class-room  of  Jamie  Miller  into  a  perfect 
pandemonium.  A  droning  sound  from  overhead,  where 
M'Turk  was  maundering  through  a  dreary  abridgment  of 
Mosheim,  gave  the  impression  that  life  was  rather  hum-drum 
in  the  garret  devoted  to  divinity.  But  these  were  exceptions. 
Most  of  the  professors  were  learned  men,  many  of  them  suc- 
cessful teachers.  Walker  loved  Latin  much  and  English 
more ;  and,  set  agoing  by  a  picturesque  description  in  Virgil, 
or  a  hapi^y  allusion  in  Horace,  it  Avas  delightful  to  listen  to 
the  parallels  which  he  rejoiced  to  accumulate  from  Dryden 
and  Shenstone,  from  Pope  and  Cowper  and  Campbell.  If 
Sandford  was  too  rhetorical  for  Parliament,  and  too  pedantic 
for  popular  authorship,  he  was  a  paragon  of  academic  elo- 
quence ;  and  stirred  by  those  brilliant  orations  which  opened 


558  PROFESSORS. 

each  session,  led  into  the  heart  of  Homer  and  -^schylus  by  the 
rich  and  magnificent  music  which  opened  every  door  and  re- 
cess, many  of  the  students  became  enthusiasts  for  both  the 
teacher  and  his  topic ;  and  had  he  remained  true  to  his  first 
love,  it  almost  looked  as  if  a  passion  for  ancient  literature 
would  have  been  revived  in  Scotland,  and  assuredly  a  large 
pervasion  of  scholarship  would  by  this  time  have  graced  and 
ennobled  the  wealth  of  its  western  metropolis. 

"  With  admirable  clearness,  and  affecting  no  needless  origin- 
ality, Buchanan  set  forth  the  elements  of  psychology,  and, 
treading  in  the  steps  of  Jardine,  his  illustrious  predecessor,  he 
so  conducted  his  logic  class  as  to  make  it  not  only  an  intel- 
lectual palaestra,  but  an  excellent  school  for  the  neglected  art 
of  English  composition.  As  soon  as  Dr.  James  Thomson  was 
brought  over  from  Belfast,  Euclid  found  an  interpreter,  and 
the  chair  of  Eobert  Simson  was  rescued  from  its  long  dis- 
grace. A  more  gentle,  anxious,  painstaking  teacher  could 
nowhere  be  found.  Any  solemn  Highlander  who  appeared 
deeply  exercised  about  surds  and  unknown  quantities,  was 
sure  to  enlist  his  sympathy;  and  a  well-timed  question  at 
the  close  of  the  hour  could  scarcely  fail  to  obtain  an  invita- 
tion to  breakfast,  and  an  explanation  of  the  binomial 
theorem.  And  although  '  old  sensation,'  the  sobriquet  Avhich 
irreverent  aff"ection  had  fixed  on  the  Eev.  James  Milne,  was 
too  feeble  to  throw  any  life  into  his  ingenious  lectures,  he  was 
regarded  as  no  unworthy  successor  to  Hutcheson  and  Reid ; 
and  well  aware  of  what  was  destined  to  come  after  him,  the 
students  sent  a  round-robin,  begging  that,  old  as  he  was,  he 
would  never  think  of  resigning ;  for,  whether  right  or  wrong, 
they  preferred  the  last  gleanings  of  Milne  to  the  first-fruits  of 
Fleming.  By  the  medical  students  Dr.  Harry  Rainy  was 
held  in  high  honour,  as  well  as  the  great  oculist,  Mackenzie ; 
but  the  pride  of  Glasgow  College  and  the  names  of  European 
renown  were  Dr.  Thomas  Thomson  and  Sir  William  Jackson 
Hooker — the  former  as  gruff  and  ungainly  in  the  lecture-hall 
as  the  other  was  graceful  and  polished,  but  each  a  mighty 
master  in  his  own  sphere,  and  consequently  enkindling  in 
many  a  susceptible  spirit  a  kindred  enthusiasm. 

"The  very  building  had  its  charms.      Half-way  between 


THE  NEW  COLLEGE.  559 

the  Cross  and  the  grand  old  Cathedral,  its  dim  class-rooms  and 
dusky  porticoes,  reminiscent  of  Wodrow  and  Baillie,  Zachary 
Boyd  and  Andrew  Melville,  to  us  it  was  no  drawback  that 
it  lay  far  to  the  east,  in  the  depths  of  old  Glasgow.  Even 
the  Molendinar,  painted  many  colours  by  the  dye-works 
which  it  passed,  was  not  without  its  charms ;  for  we  were 
young,  and  in  fancy  could  recall  the  time  when  it  flowed 
through  daisied  meadows,  and  gave  drink  to  St.  Mungo  and 
his  flock  before  *  Glass-go '  began  to  flourish.  Still,  it  must 
be  owned  that  the  New  Vennel  is  not  a  charming  neighbour- 
hood ;  and  as  few  students  now  lodge  in  the  Saltmarket  or 
Gallowgate,  it  is  natural  that  the  College  should  wish  to  follow 
the  town  to  the  banks  of  the  Kelvin. 

**  A  favourable  opportunity  has  occurred.  Some  railway, 
or  other  company,  has  given  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  for 
the  existing  site  and  premises,  and  on  a  commanding  site  it 
is  proposed  to  build — from  plans  by  Scott,  and  at  an  outlay 
of  over  £300,000 — the  new  Glasgow  College.  To  carry  out 
the  scheme,  subscriptions  are  invited ;  and,  with  such  a  spirited 
chief-magistrate  as  Provost  Blackie,  with  Mr.  Orr  Ewing  for 
Dean  of  Guild,  and  with  a  representative  of  the  city  so  elo- 
quent and  popular  as  Mr.  WUHam  Graham,  himself  an  alumnus 
of  the  University,  and  with  the  well-known  munificence  of 
Glasgow  merchants,  we  should  not  wonder  though  this  large 
contribution  Avere  obtained,  and  a  structure  reared  fit  for  the 
palatial  home  of  learning,  and  the  crowning  ornament  of 
Scotland's  largest  city. 

"  To  a  share  in  this  subscription  it  seems  that  we  southerners 
are  to  be  invited.  We  feared  that  Alma  Mater  had  forgotten 
us.  Since  we  paid  our  last  guineas,  and  gained  our  last  prizes, 
we  have  been  toiling  on  in  our  various  departments,  serving 
our  generation  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  and  trying  to  do  no 
discredit  to  the  seminary  where  we  studied,  any  more  than 
to  the  land  which  gave  us  birth.  And  to  all  of  us,  it  would 
have  been  pleasant  to  find  that  a  few  at  least  were  remembered 
and  recognised.  But  although  the  shower  of  honorary  degrees 
has  been  copious  and  incessant,  and  although  it  happens  that 
the  largest  Presbyterian  congregations  in  Liverpool,  Man- 
chester, and  London  are  presided   over  by  ministers  from 


560      INFLUENCE  OF  THE  COLLEGE  ON  THE  CITY. 

Glasgow  College,  by  a  curious  coincidence  they  have  all 
escaped.  In  the  same  way,  in  the  list,  for  the  last  ten  years, 
of  those  whom  the  Senate  has  delighted  to  honour  v/ith 
'  LL.D.,'  we  look  in  vain  for  such  men  of  European  renown 
as  Hooker  of  Kew,  Richardson  of  Newcastle,  Thomson,  late 
of  Calcutta,  and  the  Master  of  the  Mint,  Professor  Graham. 
But  now  that  money  is  wanted,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the 
Senate  may  call  to  remembrance  'distinguished  alumni'  in 
England.-^ 

"  Every  seventh  year,  at  least,  the  member  of  Parliament 
must  come  to  his  constituents  ;  but  it  is  at  remoter  intervals 
that  a  college  faculty  is  called  upon  to  give  an  account  of  its 
stewardship.  The  present  is  one  of  those  rare  occasions. 
The  Glasgow  Px'ofessors  want  money ;  they  appeal  to  the 
public ;  and  the  public  may  tell  them  a  little  of  their  mind, 
and  even  try  to  obtain  a  pledge  or  two  for  the  future.  And, 
first  of  all,  whilst  we  hope  that  Glasgow  will  now  do  a  great 
deal  for  the  College,  we  deem  it  a  great  disgrace  that  the 
College  has  hitherto  done  so  little  for  Glasgow.  There  is  no 
city  in  the  empire  where  a  band  of  enlightened  and  public- 
spirited  residents  might  do  more  to  diffuse  a  taste  for  scholar- 
ship and  science  than  in  the  great  western  capital,  where 
there  are  thousands  of  young  men  available  for  evening  classes, 
and  hundreds  of  citizens  ready  to  subscribe  largely  to  every 
scheme  of  rational  improvement.  On  the  other  hand,  here 
are  more  than  twenty  professors,  most  of  them  undistracted  by 
other  occupations,  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  handsome  income, 
with  a  holiday  which  lasts  half  the  year ;  and  what  have  they 
done  for  the  intellectual  improvement  of  the  community  1 — 
for  its  elevation,  social,  moral,  spiritual]  The  colleges  of 
London  have  their  evening  classes,  where  hard-wrought  pro- 
fessors, returning  from  their  brief  recess,  when  the  toils  of  the 
day  are  ended,  resume  by  night,  and,  to  a  crowded  concourse, 

1  Through  excess  of  affection  for  the  historic  colleges  of  Scotland,  Dr. 
Hamilton,  we  tliink,  errs  by  overrating  the  importance  of  their  procedure  on 
this  head.  The  question  has  fallen  into  such  a  position  that  the  discussion  of 
it  seems  altogether  profitless.  Through  the  profuseness  and  lack  of  discrimina- 
tion which  have  characterized  the  dispensation  of  honorary  academic  degrees 
for  a  generation,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  their  value  has  long  been  nil. 


THE  HUNTEEIAN  MUSEUM.  5G1 

communicate  those  truths  and  principles  which  go  far  to 
expand  the  minds  of  their  hearers,  and  make  them  not 
sciolists,  but  enlightened  and  observant  citizens.  "Which  of 
the  Glasgow  professors  have  gone  and  done  likewise  1  And 
both  in  London  and  in  Manchester  a  chief  element  in  every 
effort  at  general  progress,  and  a  vital  element  in  society,  are 
the  men  who  adorn  their  academic  institutions ;  but  among 
all  the  monks  of  the  Molendinar,  which  are  the  men  who  take 
the  place  in  Young  Men's  Cliristian  Associations  and  Colleges 
for  the  "Working  Classes,  in  town  libraries  and  institutions  for 
popularizing  science,  which  has  so  long  been  taken  elsewhere 
by  Principal  Scott  and  Dr.  Leone  Levi,  by  Professor  Masson 
and  Professor  Maurice  "i  Looking  over,  in  the  Almanac,  the 
directorate  of  the  literary  and  philosophical  institutions  in 
Glasgow,  the  College  is  conspicuous  for  its  absence;  and, 
whatever  may  be  the  meiits  of  individual  professors,  we 
believe  that  as  far  as  any  express  effort  is  concerned,  as  much 
might  have  been  done  for  the  elevation  and  refinement  of 
Glasgow  s,ociety  had  the  University  seat  been  lona. 

"  There  is  one  other  point  on  which  we  think  the  million- 
naires  now  subscribing  to  the  College  should  try  to  get  pledges 
— we  mean  the  College  Museum.  All  the  world  knows  what 
a  noble  collection  John  Hunter's  Museum  has  become  under 
the  management  of  the  College  of  Surgeons  in  London ;  we 
doubt  if  any  one  can  conceive  the  state  of  dowdyism  and 
neglect  into  which  Dr.  William  Hunter's  bequest  has  subsided 
under  the  management  of  the  Principal  and  Professors  of 
Glasgow,  Last  August  we  paid  our  shilling,  and  were  ad- 
mitted by  a  boy,  who  appeared  as  the  sole  representative  of 
keeper  and  sub-keeper,  to  rooms  resplendent  with  Titians, 
Correggios,  and  Kaffaelles,  and  at  the  same  time  ridiculous 
with  trumpery  curiosities,  and  with  specimens  of  natural  his- 
tory named  after  the  style  of  a  penny  peep-show.  In  the 
lower  apartments  the  odour  of  dank  neglect  and  incipient 
decomposition  made  us  tremble  for  the  fate  of  anatomical  pre- 
parations which  we  had  used  to  regard  as  priceless ;  and,  ascend- 
ing to  the  summit,  we  found  ourselves  surrounded  by  dusty  piles 
of  books,  a  moment's  glance  at  which  revealed  Schweynheims 
and  Caxtons  sufficient  to  drive  a  book-worm  distracted.    It  was 

2  N 


5G2  THE  ACADEMIC  STAFF. 

in  vain  that  we  endeavoured  to  obtain  a  nearer  view  of  those 
treasures.  There  was  no  catalogue ;  a  disconsolate-looking 
foreigner,  who  sat  transcribing  a  manuscript,  could  give  us  no 
access ;  and  the  boy,  who  represented  the  Professor  of  Natural 
History  and  his  deputy,  could  only  take  the  shilling;  he  could  not 
open  the  presses.  But  if  the  merchants  of  Glasgow  build  apalace 
for  the  College,  we  trust  that  they  will  take  care  that  Dr.  Hunter's 
design  is  carried  out,  and  that,  relieved  from  rubbishy  accom- 
paniments, and  no  longer  a  light  under  a  bushel,  Avhen  re- 
sidents or  strangers  go  to  visit  the  Museum,  they  shall  see 
not  only  a  few  stuffed  skins,  and  a  series  of  anatomical  pre- 
parations, but  a  fine  picture  gallery,  a  rare  series  of  typogra- 
phical incunahula  and  first  editions,  and  a  cabinet  of  coins 
matchless  in  Britain,  and  only  surpassed  by  one  Continental 
collection. 

"  Of  the  existing  professors  few  are  yet  known  to  fame ;  but 
if  Drs.  William  Thomson  and  Macquorn  Eankine,  Mr.  Veitch, 
and  the  Eev.  Dr.  Caird,  may  be  accepted  as  representatives, 
there  is  in  the  academic  staff  no  lack  of  acquirement  or  in- 
tellectual power;  and,  for  willingness  to  accept  or  initiate 
improvements.  Principal  Barclay  is  surely  a  great  advance  on 
that  '  tough  old  Tory '  his  obstructive  predecessor.  On  such 
a  body,  if  public  opinion  is  brought  to  bear  at  this  juncture, 
we  are  not  without  hope  that  a  new  era  may  commence  in 
its  history.  Instead  of  receiving  only  a  third  of  its  students 
from  Glasgow  itself,  and  emerging  from  its  habitual  obscurity 
only  once  a  year,  when  a  stranger  comes  to  be  installed  as 
rector,  let  us  hope  that,  in  its  migration  to  a  new  locality,  it 
may  become  so  attractive  to  the  youth  of  the  city,  and  so 
aggressive  on  the  surrounding  society,  as  to  be  the  light  of 
the  Lowlands,  and  the  great  source  of  mental  invigoration 
and  aesthetic  refinement  to  the  vast  population  rising 
round  it." 

In  IVrarch  18G6,  Dr.  Hamilton  visited  Scotland,  in  the 
interests  of  Church  Extension  in  England.  From  Edin- 
burgh he  writes  to  his  wife  : — 

"  It  is  such  a  blessing  to  get  good  accounts  from  home. 


WEST  CHURCK  BURYIKG-GEOUND,  EDINBURGH.      563 

and  none  but  good.  I  suppose  you  filter  or  strain  the 
news,  and  keep  the  bad  to  yourself.  The  congregations 
yesterday  were  tremendous,  both  in  St.  George's  and  St. 
Mary's,  but  I  do  not  know  about  the  collections.  Saw  num- 
berless friends, — Mrs.  Alex.  Hamilton  and  her  daughters, 
James  Marshall,  jun.,  from  Hampstead  (who  sent  his  love 
to  James),  Lord  Cowan,  Lord  Ardmillan,  Sir  D.  Brewster, 
Professor  Blackie,  etc.  The  singing  in  St.  George's  is 
very  fine." 

"Edinburgh,  Saturday,  March  lly  1866. 
"Went  into  the  West  Kirk  Burying-ground,  the  little 
side  avenue  next  to  Princes  Street,  where  lie  the  remains 
of  my  gentle  sister  Mary,  and  of  our  faithful  old  Susan. 
At  the  further  end  was  a  lady,  and,  not  to  disturb  her,  I 
lingered  near  the  entrance.  I  soon  saw,  however,  that  it 
was  Mary's  grave  which  she  was  looking  at,  and,  going 
forward,  my  tread  on  the  ground  made  her  turn  round. 
It  was  Miss  Jessie  Cameron.  She  was  very  much  sur- 
prised. '  Yes,  very  often  on  a  Saturday,  I  pay  a  visit  to 
those  blessed  ones  ;  to  Mr.  Wilkie,  and  my  father  in  the 
Greyfriars,  and  to  your  sweet  sister  here.  Nor  has  there 
been  a  night  these  eight-and-twenty  years,  when  I  have 
not  named  in  prayer  all  that  are  left  of  your  dear  family.' 
Such  a  holy  love,  such  truth  and  tenderness  of  affection, 
are  unspeakably  precious,  and  I  am  glad  that  I  can  under- 
stand them.  A  rare  and  pleasant  home  it  was  in  50  George 
Square,  under  my  mother's  endearing  presidency;  our- 
selves still  ignorant  of  the  evil  in  the  world,  and  rich  in 
delightful  friends :  Mr.  Wilkie  (minister  of  Greyfriars), 
Dr.  Huie,  James  Halley,  Braidwood,  Smeaton,  Arnot,  and 


564  OBITUARIES. 

our  own  and  our  sisters'  contemporaries, — an  atmosphere 
of  perfect  sincerity  and  openness,  animated  by  sufficient 
vivacity  and  intelligence,  and  shone  through  by  light 
from  heaven. 

"  My  interruption  sent  Miss  C.  away,  and  I  copied  the 
inscription : — 'The  burying-ground  of  the  family  of  the 
Eev.  Br.  Hamilton,  df  Strathblane.'  'Mary  Hamilton, 
his  second  daughter,  born  12th  April  1820:  died  5th 
Nov.  1838.'  'Susan  Macfarlane, an  attached  servant,  died 
11th  May  1842,  aged  45  years.' 

" '  Mrs.  Lilias  Craig,  relict  of  Lieut.-Col.  Kernan,  died 
Dec.  1845;  and  her  sister,  Marion  Craig,  died  8th  June 
1849:  both  of  Strathblane,  who  requested  to  be  buried 
here.'" 

"Quarter,  March  20,  1SG6. 

"  My  deakest  Annie, — Accompanied  by  Miss  Jaffray, 
I  arrived  safely  here  at  two.  It  was  very  interesting  to 
draw  near  Larbert,  Denny,  and  other  places  so  familiar, 
and  really  it  was  touching  to  find  at  the  stations  every 
body  asking  so  kindly  for  '  the  son.' 

"  Thank  James  for  his  letter,  I  am  delighted  to  hear 
of  his  exploits  in  the  way  of  sitting  up.  I  went  out  and 
visited  the  wood,  saw  the  now  celebrated  tree ;  called  on 
the  Crombies  and  their  seven  children." 

"  2  Sandyford  Place,  Glasgow, 
If  arch  22,  1866. 

"  My  d:eatiest  Annie, — Yesterday  the  Union  Committee 
ended  at  one ;  so  I  had  time  to  go  and  see  the  Edinburgh 
Academy  Exhibition.     It  has  many  nice  landscapes,  and 


LETTER  TO  MR.  GEORGE  DUNCAN.  obo 

J.  N'apier's  '  Edith,'  After  that  went  to  Blair's  for  lunch, 
where  I  showed  the  two  divines  your  eight-page  letter,  tak- 
ing care,  however,  not  to  let  them  read  it,  and  telling  them 
that  I  had  one  every  other  day,  so  that  they  were  filled 
with  admiration  and  envy.  Came  here  with  Dr.  Buchanan 
and  Dr.  Duncan  in  time  for  dinner,  and  then  had  a  capital 
meeting  in  the  Queen's  Koom&  in  the  evening.  A  good 
sleep  followed,  and  now  a  most  lovely  morning.  Am 
goiug  to  hear  the  Inaugural  Address  of  the  Lord  Eector 
Inglis." 

To  Mr.  George  Duncan,  an  elder  of  Kegent  Sc[uare,  in 
a  time  of  family  affliction,  he  writes : — 

"48  EusTON  Square,  May  2,  1866. 
"  With  two  such  precious  ones  invalids  under  your  roof, 
most  deeply  do  we  feel  for  you,  and  often  do  our  prayers 
arise  for  you  and  dear  Mrs.  Duncan ;  nor  can  we  cease  to 
hope  that  He  who  has  so  often  been  the  present  help  will 
yet  in  His  wonderful  goodness  interpose  and  turn  this 
captivity.  'All  His  saints  are  in  His  hand,'  and  it  is  a 
joy  unspeakable  to  think  that  in  any  alternative  it  must 
be  well  with  herself ;  but  it  is  sad  to  think  of  such  pain 
and  helplessness, — sad,  too,  to  think  of  the  lengthened 
trial  to  yourseK  and  her  fond  mother,  and  all  the  affec- 
tionate watcliers  beside  her.  A  few  grants  were  made  by 
the  committee  yesterday,  but  there  was  no  business  of 
any  difficulty.  I  am  sure  that  it  is  far  better  that  Mrs. 
Duncan  should  be  kept  perfectly  quiet  and  uninterrupted, 
and  all  those  who  are  around  her  whom  it  is  best  for  her 
to  see.     But  if  she  were  any  day  fancying  a  five  minutes' 


56G  LETTER  FROM  AN 

visit  from  lier  minister,  I  need  not  say  how  gladly  I  would 
run  down  any  morning  or  afternoon.  J.  H." 

From  time  to  time  I  liave  admitted  illustrations,  from 
private  letters,  of  the  great  affection  and  esteem  with 
which  Dr.  Hamilton  was  regarded  by  Christians  in  the 
United  States.  I  have  omitted  altogether  the  eulogiums 
that  I  have  found  scattered  throughout  the  periodical 
literature  of  America,  in  the  form  of  spontaneous  reviews, 
as  well  as  letters  from  correspondents  travelling  in  England. 
It  is  due,  however,  both  to  the  memory  of  the  departed, 
and  to  the  many  warm-hearted  Americans  who  loved  him, 
to  intimate  that  they  did  him  justice  in  public  as  well  as 
in  private.  In  the  present  day  nothing  can  be  more  de- 
lightful than  to  observe  the  readiness  and  generosity  with 
which  Christian  men  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic 
observe  and  acknowledge  whatever  is  lovely  and  of  good 
report  on  this  side. 

From  one  letter  more  let  an  extract  be  given ;  in  this 
case  from  a  gentleman  who  resided  in  the  Southern 
States : — 

"New  Orleans,  June  25,  1866. 
"Rev.  James  Hamilton,  D.D.,  London. 

"Deak  Sir, — While  travelling  in  England  with  my 
family,  during  the  year  1858, 1  had  the  pleasure  of  forming 
your  acquaintance,  through  the  intervention  of  a  gentle- 
man who  was  then,  I  believe,  a  Member  of  Parliament 
from  Edinburgh.  The  event  has,  doubtless,  escaped  your 
memory,  or  been  crowded  out  by  more  important  matters. 
I  also  attended  your  ministry.     Since  then  it  has  been  one 


AMEKICAN  BARRISTER.  5G7 

of  tlie  dreams  of  my  life  to  return  to  England,  and  spend 
the  remnant  of  my  days  there. 

"  The  convulsion  through  which  this  unfortunate  coun- 
try has  so  lately  passed,  and  the  sufferings  consequent 
upon  it,  have  greatly  increased  my  desire  to  leave  it.  But 
this  wiU  be  attended  with  expense,  and  I  have  only  a 
limited  fortune  left. 

"  That  you  may  form  an  opinion  of  the  sort  of  society 
likely  to  suit  me,  I  would  take  the  liberty  of  stating  that 
I  am  a  member  of  the  bar,  have  been  for  some  years  a 
judge  in  one  of  the  high  courts  of  the  State  of  Louisiana, 
fond  of  books,  and  of  the  society  of  literary  men.  As, 
however,  my  fortune  is  much  reduced,  I  cannot,  even  were 
I  so  disposed,  indulge  in  fashionable  life.  What  I  need 
most  now  is  calmness  and  quiet,  and  intercourse  and  com- 
munion with  cultivated  and  religious  society, 

"I  believe  I  can  find  all  this  in  London,  and  would 
prefer  it  among  the  members  of  your  congregation. 

"  Permit  me  to  say,  in  conclusion,  that  you  still  preach 
on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  through  the  precious 
volumes  you  have  given  to  the  world,  and  that  life  has 
been  a  more  earnest  thing  to  many  of  us  by  their  perusal. 

"  Earnestly  invoking  the  richest  blessing  of  our  common 
Father  upon  yourself  and  your  labours, — I  am,  very  truly 
yours,  Jno.  M'Vea." 

"  Oct.2Z,  1866.— Yesterday  I  sent  the  printer  the  last 
sheet  of  The  ParaMe  of  tlte  Prodigal  Son.  It  contains  the 
essence  of  a  dozen  sermons  preached  during  this  month 
and  at  midsummer  last.     Much  of  it  was  written  in  the 


5G8 


early  morning  before  breakfast, — a  time  whicli  I  would  not 
choose  for  study,  because  it  makes  the  latter  part  of  the 
day  dull  and  stupid,  but  I  frequently  have  no  other  time 
available.  To  visitors  I  always  try  to  be  polite  and 
affable,  and  they  are  apt  to  conclude  that  I  have  abund- 
ance of  leisure.  And  visitors  are  veiy  numerous.  One 
Monday  lately  Ann  counted  the  number  of  times  that  the 
door-bell  rang,  and  it  was  forty-five  times  before  twelve 
o'clock.  In  this  way,  for  four  or  five  of  the  working  days, 
the  golden  hours  from  nine  to  half-past  one  are  frittered 
away.  At  two,  after  a  hasty  dinner,  I  go  out  to  visit/  and 
the  evenings  are  almost  invariably  bespoken.  So  I  envy 
the  like  of  my  late  friend  Dr.  Morrison,  Mr.  Jay,  Adam 
Gib,  and  old  Dean  Milman,  who  are  or  have  been  early 
risers. 

"  A  curious  accident  befell  the  first  section  of  the  Pro- 
digal. I  had  preached  it  on  the  first  Sabbath  morning  of 
July,  and,  coming  home,  laid  it  on  the  study  table  beside 
another  manuscript  containing  an  outline  of  the  intended 
course,  with  various  topics  I  meant  to  touch  upon.  I 
suspect  it  must  have  been  poor  little  Ada,  who,  in 
arranging  the  study  table,  thought  it  best  to  transfer  all 
such  litter  to  the  waste-paper  basket ;  for  two  days  after 
I  missed  the  two  manuscripts,  and  asked  the  servants  if 
they  had  seen  them  anywhere.  Isabella  said  she  had  seen 
two  sermons  in  the  waste-paper  basket  when  she  took  it 
down-stairs  the  day  before,  and  as  she  had  not  rescued 
them,  she  supposed  they  had  been  used  to  light  the  kitchen 
or  nursery  fire.  Next  Sabbath  I  asked  for  notes,  if  snch 
there  might  be.     A  good  many  were  sent,  and  with  their 


HIS  SON-IN-LAW.  5G9 

help  I  re-wrote  the  Fatherland,  as  now  it  is  printed,  but 
the  '  outline'  was  beyond  recall" 

On  this  occasion  a  member  of  the  congregation  taught 
himself  shorthand  in  order  that  he  might  be  able  to  re- 
port the  sermons. 

The  discourses  on  the  Prodigal  were  first  published  in 
a  handsome  illustrated  volume,  and  afterwards  in  a  smaller 
and  cheaper  form. 

To  his  brother,  on  ]\Iarch  1 2th,  he  writes  : — "  We  have 
been  greatly  saddened  by  the  rumoured  death  of  Dr. 
Livingstone.  As  once  before,  it  may  turn  out  unfounded, 
but  I  fear.  Our  people  know  him  so  well,  that  I  could 
not  avoid  making  his  life  and  labours  the  main  subject  on 
Sabbath  evening,  with  the  needful  caveat,  that  we  may 
venture  to  hope  his  life  and  labours  are  not  ended  yet." 

A  letter  to  the  Eev.  H.  M.  Gunn  very  pleasantly  intro- 
duces a  new  member  into  the  family  circle.  The  marriage 
of  his  eldest  daughter  contributed  to  cheer  his  heart  under 
his  own  increasing  infirmity,  and  lighten  materially,  in 
prospect  of  his  own  departure,  his  solicitude  for  those 
that  were  left  behind : — 

"London,  Feb.  27,  1867. 

"My  dear  Fkiend,—  ...  I  liked  Frederick  Wills 
from  the  first,  and  now  I  like  him  more :  indeed,  it  has 
got  beyond  liking.  Since  his  declaration  he  is  more  free, 
elastic,  and  open,  and  I  feel  as  if  I  understood  him  fully. 
He  is  thoroughly  noble  and  unaffected  and  true,  and  there 
IS  such  a  fine  music  in  his  manners,  such  a  nice  way  of 
saying  the  right  thing,  as  well  as  of  parrying  awkward 
things,  that  even  outsiders  are  at  once  taken  with  him. 


570  ORIGIN  AND  OBJECT  OF 

Now  that  tlie  first  flutter  is  over,  tliey  both  seem  pro- 
foundly happy,  and  I  trust  that  in  the  loving-kindness  of 
the  Lord  they  may  have  many  useful,  joyful  years  together." 

As  Dr.  Hamilton  took  a  leading  part  in  the  preparation 
and  introduction  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  and  Hymns,  which 
was  finally  adopted  by  his  Church,  it  becomes  necessary 
to  submit  some  notices  of  its  rise  and  progress. 

A  small  collection  of  hymns  had  been  introduced  as 
early  as  1857  ;  but  it  failed  to  give  satisfaction.  The  de- 
mand for  a  larger  and  more  varied  selection  increased  and 
prevailed. 

After  several  unsuccessful  attempts  to  accomplish  the 
object  by  the  direct  action  of  the  Supreme  Ecclesiastical 
Court,  the  promoters  constituted  themselves  into  an  in- 
formal committee,  and  took  the  matter  into  their  own 
hands.  This  was  done,  however,  with  the  full  knowledge, 
and  even  with  the  tacit  consent,  of  the  members,  but  with- 
out the  formal  sanction  of  the  Synod. 

With  unflagging  zeal  and  perseverance  this  voluntary 
brotherhood  prosecuted  their  chosen  task.  In  a  spirit  of 
prayer  and  love  and  patience,  they  persevered  until  all 
difficulties  were  surmounted,  and  a  manual  of  praise  was 
produced,  which  is  in  some  respects  unique  and  unrivalled. 
It  contains,  first,  all  the  Psalms,  according  to  the  version 
used  in  the  Scottish  Churches,  and  then  a  collection  of  five 
hundred  hymns,  with  appropriate  music  for  each  printed 
at  the  top  of  the  page.  No  pains  were  spared.  Nothing 
was  omitted  that  diligence  and  skill,  and  the  collision  of 
many  competent  and  independent  minds,  could  achieve. 
In  Dr.    Hamilton's   correspondence    I   find   letters   sent 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS  AND  HYMNS.  571 

out  in  all  directions,  asking  suggestions  regai'ding  the 
value  of  tunes  as  well  as  hymns,  and  permission,  where 
there  was  copyright,  to  use  them. 

Several  members  of  that  happy  band  have  expressed  to 
me,  with  enthusiasm,  that  the  time  spent  in  the  work, 
while  it  was  a  period  of  anxious  labour,  was  also  a  period 
of  rare  enjoyment  and  privilege.  As  iron  sharpeneth  iron, 
these  men  were  quickened  and  edified  by  interchange  of 
sentiment  on  the  deep  and  tender  themes  with  which  they 
were  so  long  and  so  minutely  occupied. 

The  account  of  their  operations  submitted  to  the  minis- 
ters and  elders  of  the  Church  is  couched  in  these  terms  : — 
"  Chiefly  owing  to  its  limited  range,  the  small  collection  of 
hymns  supplemental  to  the  Psalmody  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  which  received  the  sanction  of  the  Synod  in 
1856,  has  failed  to  give  general  satisfaction,  and  there  is  a 
growing  desire  within  our  bounds  for  a  larger  command  of 
that  sacred  minstrelsy  which  has  done  so  much  to  enliven 
the  worship  of  the  various  evangelical  communions  in 
England.  Sharing  that  feeling,  and  believing  that  a  good 
manual  of  psalmody  might  do  much  for  the  extension  of 
our  Church,  as  well  as  for  the  elevation  of  Christian  senti- 
ment and  affection  within  it,  various  ministers  and  elders 
combined  their  labours  in  the  summer  of  1865."  The  first 
draft  was  sent  in  the  autumn  to  all  the  ministers,  and 
many  of  the  elders.  Having  considered,  and  to  some 
extent  adopted,  the  emendations  suggested,  the  compilers 
presented  their  revised  draft  to  the  Synod  in  April  1866. 
The  Synod  gave  it  a  general  approval,  and  appointed  a 
committee  to  revise  it  finally,  with  authority  to  publish  it 


572  THE  synod's  committee. 

when  com^Dleted  for  the  use  of  the  congregations.  The 
same  persons  who  had  prepared  the  book,  with  three 
additional  names,  constituted  the  Synod's  committee.^  Dr. 
Hamilton  was  convener  both  of  the  voluntary  and  the 
authorized  committees.  Both  before  the  Synod's  act 
and  after  it,  he  devoted  himself  to  this  compilation  with 
patriotic  zeal.  His  love  of  hymns  was  an  early  love, 
and  it  had  grown  with  his  growth.  With  this  department 
of  sacred  literature,  as  with  others,  he  was  minutely 
acquainted. 

But  the  hardest  part  of  his  task  was  the  necessity  of  de- 
fending the  work,  in  its  principle  as  well  as  its  details,  from 
the  persevering  opposition  of  brethren  within  the  Church. 
He  and  his  fellow-labourers  were  precisely  in  the  position  of 
Nehemiah  and  the  returned  captives  while  they  were  re- 
building tlie  walls  of  Jerusalem  :  they  found  it  necessary 
to  hold  the  trowel  in  one  hand  and  the  sword  in  the 
other.  At  one  and  the  same  time  they  constructed  their 
hymn-book  and  defended  their  work  against  brethren 
who  contended  against  the  use  of  hymns  in  public  wor- 
ship altogether.  It  was  a  conscientious  opposition,  con- 
ducted by  conscientious  men,  and  therefore  it  was  all  the 
more  difficult  to  meet  and  overcome  it. 

This  was  not  a  matter  in  which  he  could  consent  to  be 

1  Dr.  Hamilton.  Mr.  Watson.  Mr.  J.  C.  Paterson. 

Dr.  Munro.  Mr.  H.  M.  Matheson.  Mr.  Lnudie. 

Dr.  M'Crie.  Mr.  M 'Lagan.  Mr.  Diuwiddie. 

Mr.  Chalmers.  Dr.  Lorimer.  Mr.  Keedy. 

Mr.  Ballantyne.  Mr.  Thomson.  Mr.  J.  Matheson. 

Mr.  Lewis.  Mr.  J.  T.  Davidson.  Mr.  W.  Bouar. 
Mr.  Saphir. 


"the  psalter  and  hymn-book."  573 

silent  for  the  sake  of  peace.  Duty  and  Christian  liberty 
were,  in  his  judgment,  directly  involved  in  it,  and  at  all 
hazards  he  must  go  forward.  His  old  weapon  still  lay  at 
hand,  and  he  was  still  able  to  wield  it.  He  will  again 
appeal  to  reason  through  the  press.  As  a  part  of  his 
argument  was,  in  the  first  instance,  addressed  to  his  own 
congregation,  the  whole  assumed  the  form  of  lectures.  In 
the  "  Psaltc?'  and  Hymn  Book,  three  lectures,"  he  spoke 
out  frankly  his  whole  mind  on  the  subject.  An  extract 
from  the  Preface  will  explain  the  occasion  and  the  cir- 
cumstances : — 

"  Like  all  representative  government,  Presbyterianism  offers 
good  security  against  rash  legislation  as  well  as  against  need- 
less and  empirical  changes ;  but  it  is  quite  possible  that  con- 
servatism may  be  carried  too  far,  and  that,  ignoring  the  signs 
of  the  times,  or  laying  undue  stress  on  old  custom  and  per- 
sonal i^reference,  rulers  of  the  Church  may  resist  improvements 
till  the  demand  shall  cease,  because  the  worshippers  have  gone 
elsewhere.  And  admirable  as  is  that  principle  of  mutual  con- 
cession, which  is  needful  to  the  harmonious  working  of  any 
system,  it  is  not  always  possible  to  wait  till  every  one  gives 
his  cordial  consent.  If  we  do  not  march  till  all  are  ready,  we 
may  lose  the  campaign ;  and,  whilst  the  Greeks  are  coaxing 
Achilles,  the  Trojans  may  be  winning  the  battle. 

"  In  the  congregation  of  which  the  author  is  minister,  the 
session  lately  agreed  to  superadd  to  the  Psalms  and  Para- 
phrases of  the  Church  of  Scotland  a  small  collection  of  hymns 
authorized  by  the  English  Synod.  In  taking  this  step,  the 
session  believed  that  they  were  meeting  the  Avishes  of  their 
fellow-members  and  making  a  welcome  addition  to  our  psal- 
mody. As,  however,  some  remonstrated  against  any  addition 
to  the  '  time-honoured  paraphrases,'  and  a  few  expressed  con- 
scientious objections  against  using  in  the  worship  of  God  any- 
thing except  the  Psalms  of  David,  a  discourse  was  delivered 
in  vindication  of  the  session's  procedure,  and  two  further 


0  V  -i  OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  USE  OE 

lectures  on  the  subject  generally  of  Christian  psalmody, — the 
substance  of  which  afterwards  appeared  in  the  British  and 
Foreign  Evangelical  Review  for  April  1865.  Nevertheless,  as 
it  was  still  maintained  that  the  session  had  acted  in  ignorance 
of  the  mind  of  the  people,  the  minister,  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility, invited  the  members  of  the  church  to  express  their 
preference.  Of  five  hundred  and  fifty-four  who  sent  in  their 
names,  five  hundred  and  three  were  in  favour  of  the  hymn- 
book,  and  fifty-one  against  it.  Like  good  Presbyterians,  most 
of  the  minority  have  since  acquiesced,  and,  before  long,  we 
have  little  doubt  that  some  of  the  recent  opponents  of  hymns 
will  be  among  their  warmest  admirers.  Nay,  we  venture  a 
little  further ;  and  just  as  to  '  them  that  are  without '  we  hare 
found  it  difficult  to  make  intelligible  the  point  presently  at 
issue,  so  to  a  following  age  Ave  believe  that  it  Avill  be  matter 
of  mere  amazement  that  the  self-same  persons  who  subscribed 
for  the  evangelization  of  the  Jews,  should  have  earnestly  con- 
tended against  the  Christianization  of  the  only  part  of  worship 
in  which  a  voice  is  permitted  to  the  Christian  people." 

Some  earnest  men  in  the  Presbyterian  Churches  of  this 
country  take  the  ground  maintained  by  one  or  two  of  the 
smaller  communities  in  America,  of  opposition  to  the  use 
of  hymns  in  the  public  worship  of  God.  They  differ  a 
good  deal  however  among  themselves,  both  as  to  the  extent 
and  the  grounds  of  their  opposition.  Some  think  it  wrong 
to  sing  in  public  worship  anything  except  the  Psalter, 
while  others  would  admit  in  addition  to  the  Psalms,  trans- 
lations of  other  portions  of  Scripture.  There  is  another 
section  who  count  themselves  somehow  bound  to  sit  while 
they  sing,  and  some  of  these  felt  constrained  to  sever  their 
connexion  with  Eegent  Square  Church  because  the  con- 
gregation in  singing  praise  substituted  the  standing  for 
the  sitting  posture. 

This  simple  statement  will  show  to  the  general  Christian 


HYMNS  AND  PARAPHRASES.  575 

community  the  necessity  wMcli  Dr.  Hamilton's  position 
imposed  upon  him,  of  contending  not  only  for  freedom  of 
expression  in  praise,  as  in  prayer,  against  those  who  would 
limit  it  to  the  express  words  of  Scripture,  but  of  contend- 
ing for  liberty  to  sing  praise  in  the  very  words  of  the  Bible 
against  some  who  pretend  to  exclude  all  but  one  book  of 
it.  The  creed  which  threw  itself  across  his  path  is  a  re- 
markable phenomenon.  Because  the  book  of  Psalms  is  a 
divine  supply  of  matter  for  praise,  you  are  prohibited  from 
using  any  other ;  but  although  it  is  also  and  as  completely 
a  divine  supply  of  matter  for  prayer,  you  may  employ 
human  language  in  public  prayer  to  any  extent,  provided 
always  that  the  sentiment  be  scriptural.  Again,  it  holds 
that  you  may  add  in  human  language  as  much  as  you 
please  to  the  Psalms  in  praising  God,  as  long  as  you  only 
say  it ;  but  the  moment  you  presume  to  sing  it  you  sin. 
Further,  it  holds  that  in  private  worship  you  may  sing 
hymns  freely  as  praise  to  God,  but  that  in  public  worship 
you  may  not ;  but  it  fails  to  draw  a  dividing  line  between 
what  is  private  and  what  is  public  worship  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  simple. 

He  was  distracted  between  contempt  for  this  narrow  and 
inconsistent  creed,  and  respect  for  the  good  men  who  held 
it.  Through  the  difficulties  he  vigorously  pushed  his  way, 
until  his  views  gained  the  ascendant  in  the  Church ;  but 
he  did  not  survive  to  see  the  improved  and  enlarged 
Psalmody  actually  introduced.  The  book,  however,  re- 
mains as  his  testimony  to  the  Church.  Every  line  of  it 
passed  under  his  eye.  He  accorded  to  it  his  hearty  ap- 
proval.    It  has  already  been  the  means  of  enlivening  the 


576  HIS  LATEST  PUBLIC  LABOURS. 

praise  in  many  a  sanctuary.  It  lias  been  adopted  by  the 
Presbyterian  Cliurches  in  New  South  Wales,  in  Victoria, 
and  New  Zealand.  It  is  used  by  congregations  in  Ireland, 
at  the  Cape,  and  in  India.  The  Book  of  Psalms  and  Hymns 
survives  as  the  building  on  which,  along  with  kindred 
spirits,  he  laboured  in  his  latest  years ;  and  his  three 
lectures  on  Psalmody,  separately  published,  remain  as  the 
argument  by  which  he  justified  and  defended  his  course. 

In  view  of  the  great  importance  he  attached  to  this 
subject,  and  the  long  labour  he  bestowed  upon  it,  it  is 
interesting  to  learn  that  a  lecture  on  psalms  and  hymns 
was  the  latest  public  act  of  his  life  outside  the  walls  of 
his  own  church.  On  "Wednesday,  2 2d  May  1867,  in  con- 
nexion with  the  adoption  of  the  Synod's  Hymn  Book,  he 
lectured  with  all  his  accustomed  felicity  and  power  in 
Islington  Presbyterian  Church.  Mr.  Davidson,  the  minis- 
ter, testifies  that  he  exhibited  on  that  occasion  even  "  more 
than  his  usual  vivacity  and  humour.  It  was  listened  to 
by  a  large  audience,  who  were  beyond  measure  delighted. 
The  effort  seemed  to  tell  upon  his  then  declining  strength  ; 
for  I  was  much  struck  with  his  worn-out  appearance  in 
the  vestry  afterwards,  and  his  expressed  longing  for  rest." 

On  the  succeeding  Sabbath,  26th  May,  he  preached 
forenoon  and  evening  in  Eegent  Square.  The  sermon  in 
the  evening  was  on  the  Tree  of  Life,  Eev.  xxii.  2 ;  and 
therewith  his  public  ministry  was  closed.  He  did  not  put 
his  hand  again  to  the  work  he  loved  so  well.  It  was 
the  Father's  will,  though  not  at  that  time  revealed  to  his 
servant,  that,  after  a  few  weeks  of  waiting,  he  should  ob- 
tain the  Rest  he  longed  for,  and  find  it  a  rest  for  ever. 


SUGGESTIONS  REGARDING  A  COLLEAGUE.        577 

On  tlie  first  three  working  days  of  the  week  he  attended 
to  his  ordinary  duties.  On  Thursday  he  "  struggled  with 
a  sermon  for  the  following  Sabbath,"  but  was  frequently 
obliged  to  desist,  and  throw  himseK  on  the  sofa  for  rest. 
In  the  afternoon  he  went  out  to  Hampstead,  to  visit  Mr. 
James  Anderson,  and  remained  there  about  three  weeks. 

The  last  official  act  of  his  ministry  was  to  preside  at  a 
meeting  of  Session  in  his  own  house  on  the  evening  of 
Monday  3d  May. 

During  this  time  preparations  were  going  on  for  the 
marriage  of  his  daughter;  and  as  he  contemplated  a  journey 
to  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  to  visit  his  friend  Mr.  Hugh 
Matheson,  he  greatly  desired  to  have  the  union  completed 
before  his  departure  for  the  North.  To  Mr.  John  Grant, 
one  of  the  deacons,  who,  living  near,  and  being  both  loving 
and  alert,  was  hand  and  foot  to  him  in  everything  he 
needed  concerning  the  church  during  the  anxious  months 
of  his  final  illness,  he  writes  : — 

•«  June  14,  1S67. 

"My  dear  Mr.  Grant, — For  both  your  letters  many 
thanks.  The  first  was  very  cheering  to  a  disconsolate  in- 
valid, with  its  Eegent  Square  news,  and  its  chapters  of 
Christian  philosophy.  If  it  is  the  will  of  God  that  I 
should  ever  return  to  my  post,  I  own  I  should  like  to  be 
released  from  a  portion  of  my  present  responsibility  ;  but 
there  is  no  plan  to  which  I  am  wedded.  Whatever  is  best 
for  Eegent  Square,  and  for  the  cause  of  the  Gospel  and 
our  Church  in  London,  will  be  to  me  the  most  satisfactory; 
but  the  first  requisite  is  a  general  and  hearty  agreement 
amongst  ourselves.     I  saw  Mr.  Watson  and  Mr.  Petrie  on 

2  0 


5  78  RESIDENCE  AT  ELTHAM. 

Wednesday  evening,  and  told  them,  much  to  the  above 
effect,  my  views.  Perhaps  the  brethren  may  not  be  able 
all  at  once  to  decide  what  is  best ;  but  to  any  scheme 
which  generally  commends  itself,  it  is  not  likely  that  I 
shall  be  any  obstruction ;  and  I  do  feel  deeply  grateful  to 
those  who,  like  yourseK,  have  so  much  at  heart  my  own 
comfort  and  the  welfare  of  the  flock.         J.  Hamilton." 

Believing  from  the  first  that  this  illness  "was  unto 
death,"  he  urged  his  friends  to  take  immediate  measures 
for  obtaining  a  colleague  who  might  also  be  successor.^ 

About  the  middle  of  June  he  removed  from  Hampstead 
and  went  to  reside  at  Eltham,  in  Kent,  under  the  hospit- 
able roof  of  Mr.  Boyd  ;  but  no  permanent  benefit  was  de- 
rived from  the  change.  A  turn  in  the  garden,  or  a  short 
drive  in  the  evening,  measured  the  extent  of  his  exertion. 
He  was  languid ;  did  not  like  to  be  looked  at ;  pointed 
sometimes  feebly  to  the  setting  sun,  seemed  sad,  and  un- 
able to  enjoy  anything;  unlike  himself.  On  the  27th  of 
June,  a  sudden  increase  of  his  aihnent  greatly  alarmed  his 
friends,  by  showing  what  seemed  symptoms  of  j^'T-ralysis ; 
but  this  feature  soon  disappeared  again.     To  such  an  ex- 

^  He  continued  to  interest  himself  in  the  efforts  made  by  the  congregation  to 
obtain  a  suitable  colleague,  but  his  friends,  though  they  greatly  desired  it, 
were  never  able  to  cheer  his  heart  by  an  announcement  of  success.  The  plan 
of  Providence,  as  interpreted  by  events,  was  to  give,  not  a  colleague  to  their 
beloved  pastor  in  his  lifetime,  but  a  successor  to  take  up  and  carry  on  his 
work.  When  this  volume  entered  the  press,  a  little  more  than  two  months 
ago,  the  prolonged  vacancy  was  trying  their  faith  and  patience  ;  but  before  its 
issue,  we  are  enabled  to  intimate  that  such  an  ajjpointment  has  been  made  and 
consummated  as  would  have  lightened  the  burden  of  James  Hamilton's  latest 
care,  if  lie  could  have  foreseen  the  event.  The  congregation  have  obtained  as 
pastor  the  Rev.  J.  Oswald  Dykes,  who  was  formerly  tlif>  colleague  of  Dr.  Cand- 
libh  in  Edinburgh,  and  a  ministry  of  very  great  promise  has  already  begua. 


INCREASING  ILLNESS.  579 

tent  at  tliis  time  had  the  disease  overcome  his  powers, 
that  he  failed  to  recognise  his  host  Mr.  Boyd  when  he 
returned  after  a  few  days'  absence  from  home.  Letters 
regarding  the  church  were  sometimes  read  to  him ;  of 
these  he  would  listen  to  a  small  portion,  and  then  say, 
"  It  is  enough,  I  can  bear  no  more." 

A  letter  written  at  this  time  by  Mrs.  Hamilton  to  Mr. 
Matheson,  who  expected  them  in  the  Highlands,  sets  the 
scene  before  us  with  simplicity  and  fulness  : — 

"Avery  Hill,  Eltham,  Kent,  June  29,  1867. 

"  My  deae  Mk.  Matheson, — Your  kind  note  was 
brought  out  to  me  yesterday.  You  and  Mrs.  Matheson 
will  be  deeply  grieved  to  hear  the  turn  that  my  precious 
husband's  illness  has  assumed — paralysis  of  the  brain, — 
which  has  been  threatening  all  these  weeks,  and  the  first 
signs  of  which  positively  showed  themselves  on  Wednes- 
day night.  When  giving  him  beef-tea,  I  found  he  could 
not  hold  the  cup,  and  a  few  hours  after  sickness  came  on, 
and  after  that  power  of  speech  failed.  He  said  to  me,  '  Oh, 
Annie,  how  curious  I  should  be  like  this  !  I  cannot  tell 
you,  dear,  what  I  wish  to  say.'  He  said  it  quite  cahnly 
and  smilingly,  and  with  a  look  of  such  pity,  added,  '  Poor 
lambie.'  I  was  quite  alone  with  him,  and  for  some  time 
could  not  leave  or  move  from  his  side  to  ring  the  bell. 
We  remained  at  Hampstead  with  our  dear  friends  at 
Trognall  until  Thursday  of  last  week,  when  we  went  to 
Euston  Square  for  one  night  to  receive  our  friend  Mrs. 
Strong,  who  came  up  to  be  at  Euston  Square  to  help  me, 
and  enable  me  the  more  easily  to  remain  here  with  my 
husband  until  the  wedding-day.     He  seemed  to  feel  the 


580  RESULTS  OF  EXCESSIVE  WORK. 

air  of  London  very  withering,  and  was  very  anxious  to 
come  away  as  soon  as  possible.  On  Friday  we  came  here, 
and  we  thought  the  quiet  and  pure  air  would  soon  show 
their  reviving  effect,  and  he  certainly  seemed  more  com- 
fortable, but  so  weak  and  exhausted  as  to  be  obliged  to 
lie  constantly  on  the  sofa,  and  doze  away,  taking  no  inter- 
est in  anything,  and  being  'quite  unable  to  get  up  enjoy- 
ment for  anything.'     This  he  said  himself. 

"We  were  much  pleased  with  Dr.  Kidd,  and  at  once 
commenced  his  plan  for  invigorating  him,  but  the  being 
out  so  constantly  as  was  wished,  the  driving,  etc.,  were 
most  wearying  to  him,  and  he  seemed  very  desirous  still 
to  continue  it  if  possible ;  but  the  pain  in  the  back,  and 
then  the  pain  in  the  head,  and  almost  constant  nausea, 
tried  him  terribly.  And  on  Dr.  Kidd's  coming  on  Thursday 
morning,  he  told  me  the  sad  state  the  poor  brain  was  in  from 
over  work.  All  yesterday  and  the  day  before  he  was 
quite  conscious  when  spoken  to,  but  could  not  put  a  sen- 
tence together,  although  he  evidently  understood  all  that 
was  said,  and  quite  knew  those  about  him. 

"  Yesterday  afternoon  he  became  much  more  tranquil, 
— for  the  constant  restlessness,  whether  asleep  or  not,  has 
been  very  terrible  all  along, — and  really  slept  quietly  and 
more  naturally,  and  the  same  through  the  night,  wdiich 
are  very  favourable  signs ;  though  he  is,  I  think,  not  quite 
so  able  to  reply  to  any  question  asked.  On  the  whole.  Dr. 
Kidd  is  pleased  with  the  progress  made  so  far,  especially 
as  the  liver  is  now  acting,  and  he  really  looks  better  than 
I  have  seen  him  for  weeks,  if  not  months.  He  has  also 
great  muscular  strength.     The  doctor  fears  he  may  become 


THE  CARE  CAST  ON  THE  LORD.        581 

liable  to  such  attacks  even  should  he  rally  from  this  one. 
All  this  we  know  is  in  higher  hands,  and  our  Heavenly 
Father  gives  us  grace  and  strength  according  to  our  need ; 
and,  having  through  all  this  sore  trial  been  personally  kept 
so  calm  and  made  willing  to  submit  to  my  God  and  Father, 
I  do  acknowledge  and  praise  Him  for  all  He  has  done  and  is 
doing  for  me.  Nothing  but  His  love  and  power  could  make 
me  feel  as  I  do,  and  I  believe  He  is  hearing  the  many  earnest 
heart-pleadings  that  are  ascending  so  constantly  for  us, 
and  He  will  do  whatever  is  best  for  us,  and  make  us  see 
it  in  that  light.  I  have  written  thus  fully,  as  I  well  know 
there  are  no  friends  who  will  be  more  grieved  or  are  more 
sympathizingly  loving  than  your  dear  selves,  and  because 
you  are  so  far  away  and  cannot  hear  often.  Your  kind, 
kind  wish  to  have  him  with  you  we  both  felt  more  deeply 
than  we  could  at  all  express.  You  will  be  glad  to  know 
that  here  our  kind  friends  do  everything  in  every  way  for 
us  both.  Our  God  is  indeed  very  good  to  us,  leading  us 
so  gently  and  tenderly  even  in  the  midst  of  this  sorest 
trial;  and  what  comfort  I  have  in  knowing  that  it  has 
been  in  his  Heavenly  Father's  work  that  my  beloved 
husband  has  become  thus  worn  out,  mentally  and  bodily ; 
and  He  may  yet  give  restoring  power,  and  give  him  back 
to  us.  We  must  trust  Him,  and  leave  all  in  His  hands. 
With  many,  many  thanks  for  all  your  love  and  kindness, 
and  my  true  love  to  you  and  dear  Mrs.  Matheson,  believe 
me,  my  dear  friend,  ever  yours  affectionately, 

"  Annie  H.  Hamilton," 

The  marriage  of  his  daughter  had  been  appointed  to 
take  place  at  London  on  July  3d,  and  he  would  not  permit 


582  MARRIAGE  OF  HIS  DAUGHTER. 

it  to  be  postponed  on  his  account.  Two  brief  notes,  one 
to  tlie  bride  and  another  to  tlie  guests,  were  dictated  to 
Mrs.  Hamilton,  and  signed  by  his  own  hand. 

It  was  soothing  to  his  spirit  in  that  hour  of  weariness 
to  know  that  his  wife  had  obtained  a  son,  and  his  younger 
children  a  brother,  whose  arm  might  support  their  weak- 
ness when  his  own  should  be  paralysed  or  altogether 
withdrawn. 

TO  THE  BRIDE  AND  BKIDEGROOM. 

"July  3,  1867. 
"  I  send  my  affectionate  regards  to  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom. I  pray  for  them  that  they  may  live  in  love  and 
in  every  virtue ;  that  they  may  live  long,  and  live  for  ever. 
(As  a  friend  said  to  me  the  other  day),  there  is  nothing 
before  them  but  goodness  and  mercy  and  love. 

"  James  Hamilton." 

to  the  guests. 

"I  return  my  grateful  thanks  to  Mr.  Gunn  and  my 
brother,  Eev.  W.  K.  Hamilton.  I  send  my  kindest  regards 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wills,  and  my  cordial  salutations  to  all 
the  dear  friends  now  assembled.  I  would  fain  have  been 
with  you  myself,  but  I  trust  that,  beyond  all  the  welcome 
guests,  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself  has  been  present. 

"  James  Hamilton." 

riiOM  MES.  HAMILTON. 

"Avery  Hill,  Elthaji,  Kent, 
Jul;/  8,  1867. 

"My  deae  Mr.  Matiieson, — I  am  so  thankful  to  be 
able  still  to  give  you  good  news  of  liim.     The   doctor 


A  MEASURE  OF  REVIVING.  583 

thinks  he  is  making  daily  progress.  He  himseK  counted 
the  days  to  the  wedding,  and  as  after  Sabbath  he  felt  him- 
self getting  better,  he  thought  he  would  be  spared  ;  and  as 
each  day  showed  some  improvement,  he  was  well  enough 
to  spare  me  by  "Wednesday,  and  at  his  own  especial  wish  I 
went  to  be  present  at  the  marriage.  This,  of  course,  was 
a  great  joy  to  all  in  the  midst  of  the  dark  cloud  which 
hung  so  sadly  over  all  for  days  before.  He  dictated  a 
message  of  love  and  blessing  to  the  bride  and  bridegroom, 
as  well  as  a  message  to  the  dear  friends  who  were  there 
assembled,  and  signed  his  name  to  each.  We  have,  in- 
deed, felt  God's  goodness,  mercy,  and  love  in  very  large 
measure  ;  and  our  hearts  would  be  ever  filled  with  deepest 
gratitude,  and  love  and  praise.  The  true  kind  love  and 
sympathy  of  friends,  far  and  near,  has  been  quite  over- 
whelming, and  a  source  of  such  comfort.  I  do  believe  it 
is  an  answer  to  the  many  prayers  which  his  people  have 
offered,  that  our  God  has  sent  such  an  abundant  blessing 
on  the  means  used,  and  thus  far  restored  him,  and  given 
good  hope  that  our  worst  fears  regarding  his  illness  will 
not  be  reahzed.  Of  course,  it  will  be  very  long  before  the 
effects  of  such  a  serious  attack  will  wear  away,  and  his 
weakness  is  very  great,  and  must  be,  for  the  remedies  have 
been  very  severe,  and  he  was  so  thin  and  weak  before ; 
but  his  appetite  is  returning,  and  quiet  sleep,  less  restless- 
ness, and,  as  he  says  himself,  '  the  brain  seems  to  be 
quieting  down,'  getting  into  a  more  natural  state.  Oh, 
how  thankful  I  am  for  all  this  I  cannot  say.  He  has 
been  able  to  go  into  the  garden  each  day  since  Tuesday, 
and  twice  been  out  for  an  hour's  drive." 


584  EEADY  TO  DEPART. 

On  the  12thof  July  lie  was  removed  to  the  hydropathic 
establishment  at  Godalming,  Surrey.  Shortly  after  his 
removal  to  this  place,  he  suffered  a  relapse  so  severe  that, 
both  to  himself  and  his  family,  the  hour  of  his  departure 
seemed  at  hand.  Under  this  conviction  he  dictated  a 
solemn  farewell  to  his  congregation  and  his  friends.  After 
giving  messages  of  love  to  all,  he  added,  "  If  any  inquire 
the  ground  of  my  confidence,  it  is  not  that  I  have  been  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel,  or  have  been  kept  from  some  sins, 
for  I  feel  utterly  unworthy.  My  hope  is  in  the  mercy  of 
God  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  that  blood  which 
cleanseth  from  all  sin,  and  I  wish  to  go  into  God's  pres- 
ence as  the  rest  have  gone, — a  sinner  saved  by  grace, — a 
sinner  saved  by  grace." 

His  brother  William,  who  visited  him  at  this  time,  re- 
ceived the  impression,  "  from  what  he  said,  as  well  as  from 
the  peculiarly  loving  and  earnest  way  in  which  he  spoke," 
that  they  should  not  meet  in  this  life  again.  When  his 
brother  expressed  a  fond  desire  that,  if  it  should  please 
God,  he  might  be  spared  a  few  years  for  the  sake  of  his 
young  children,  he  replied,  "  Yes,  WiUiam,  they  are,  some 
of  them,  very  young ;  but  it  is  not  needful  I  feel  as  if  I 
had  reached  tlie  evening  of  the  week ;  and  on  Saturday 
night  it  is  far  better  to  have  all  the  work  ended, — no  ser- 
mon to  write,  no  lecture  to  prepare,  and  to  wait  for  the 
Sabbath  ;  and  I  am  waiting.  My  work  to  me  seems  done. 
You  are  going  back  to  Clapham  :  give  my  kind  love  to 
our  dear  good  uncle.  His  kindness  has  been  unceasing, 
and  is  among  the  most  precious  of  our  many  mercies. 
Dear,  kind  old  man  !     His  letters  are  very  full  of  tender- 


LETTER  TO  THE  CONGEEGATION.       585 

ness,  and  the  fragrance  of  his  sympathy  will  remain  so 
long  as  the  paper  retains  the  ink."  This  was  a  steadfast 
love;  as  far  back  as  the  year  1849,  I  find  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  Mr.  Walker,  this  confession  : — "  You  will  be 
expecting  a  visit  of  Uncle  Thomas  ;  dear  uncle.,  I  feel  more 
and  more  drawn  to  him  for  his  own  sake,  and  also  for  the 
more  and  more  of  my  father  which  seems  to  shine  out  of 
liim  as  he  gi'ows  older." 

On  the  27th  of  July,  and  in  answer  to  a  resolution  of 
sympathy  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  the  congregation,  he 
indited  and  signed  the  following  reply  : — 

"Hillside,  Godalming,  Surrey, 
27</i  July  1867. 

"  My  dear  Friends, — Although  almost  daily  desiring  to 
thank  you  for  your  friendly  inquiries  and  affectionate  prayers, 
to  which  I  owe  so  much,  such  has  been  my  state  of  prostration, 
that  even  by  the  hand  of  another  I  have  not  been  able  to 
write. 

"  Now,  however,  your  message  in  the  Congregational 
Minute,  which  I  have  received  through  Mr.  Blyth,  compels 
me  to  make  the  effort.  Yet  what  can  I  say  ]  I  can  only  say 
that  my  heart  is  like  to  be  broken  by  your  loving-kindness. 

"  Twenty-six  years  have  passed  this  week  since  my  ministry 
in  Regent  Square  began  :  it  has  been  full  of  imperfections ; 
but  your  kindness  to  me  and  mine  has  made  it  full  of  happi- 
ness ;  and  I  trust  it  has  not  been  without  tokens  of  God's 
blessing. 

"  Should  any  measure  of  strength  be  restored,  it  is  a  great 
joy  to  me  to  think  that  such  services  as  I  may  be  able  to 
render  will  still  be  welcomed ;  should  it  be  otherwise,  good 
is  the  will  of  the  Lord  :  that  will  be  done ! 

"  There  is  room  for  us  all  in  the  grace  of  God,  and  in  the 
provisions  of  the  great  Atonement.  To  that  grace  I  com- 
mend you  and  myself ;  and  if  not  in  the  dear  sanctuary  where 


586    FURTHER  SYMPTOMS  OF  IMPROVEMENT. 

we  have  so  often  worshipped  together,  may  we  meet  in  that 
better  world, 

'  Where  congregations  ne'er  break  up, 
And  Sabbaths  have  no  end.' 

— I  remain,  your  affectionate  pastor, 

"  James  Hamilton." 


"  Hill  Side,  Godalming,  July  28,  1867. 
"  My  dear  Mr.  Watson, — Many  thanks  for  your  most 
kind  letter  received  this  morning,  and  its  enclosed  cheque, 
as  well  as  for  all  the  kind  thought  you  and  dear  Mrs. 
Watson  have  given  us,  in  doing  so  much  to  save  us  thought 
and  anxiety  just  now.  On  Monday  I  received  from  Mr. 
Blyth  a  most  kind  letter,  and  the  congregational  minute 
of  the  meeting  held  on  Monday  week.  These  I  ventured 
to  tell  my  husband  of  on  Thursday,  when  I  hoped  he 
might  be  able  to  bear  it.  He  asked  me  to  read  them  to 
him,  and  it  was  quite  too  much  for  him  ;  he  wept  in  a  way  I 
never  saw  before.  And  after  a  little  he  wished  to  dictate 
a  reply,  which  I  felt  it  best  he  should  be  allowed  to  do, 
and  so  set  his  mind  free  ;  this  he  did,  and  signed,  lying  in 
his  bed  (which  must  account  for  the  sad  shakiness  of  the 
signature  and  his  want  of  sight).  This  you  will  see  and 
hear  to-morrow,  so  I  need  only  now  give  you  to-day's 
report,  which  is  very  good,  after  a  night  of  very  good  sleep 
— I  think  the  best  there  has  been  yet.  The  terrible  boil 
which  has  caused  so  much  suffering  and  feverishness  is 
beginning  to  subside  and  heal,  so  we  are  now  hoping  to 
see  the  nourishment  which  he  now  takes  with  relish  going 
to  cover  the  poor  emaciated  frame.  It  would  be  a  great 
trial  to  you  and  other  dear  friends  to  see  how  sadly  altered 


CHURCH  IN  THE  HOUSE  TOR  THE  LAST  TIME.     587 

lie  is  in  body,  but  the  mind  is  qnite  as  clear  and  bright  as 
ever.  We  do  not  let  it  give  out  much  of  its  brightness  just 
now.  He  heard  your  letter,  and  desires  me  to  give  you 
his  '  kind  love  and  best  thanks  for  all  his  benefactions  ;  the 
payment  on  account  of  authorship  is  a  perfect  windfall.' 
With  our  united  warmest  love  to  Mrs.  Watson  and  your- 
self, and  loving  remembrances  to  inquiring  friends  and  our 
dear  people, — I  remain,  my  dear  Mr.  Watson,  ever  yours 
affectionately,  Annie  H.  Hamilton." 

Having  remained  under  the  care  of  j\Ir.  INIaberly  for 
more  than  a  month,  on  the  26th  of  August,  under  the 
direction  of  his  physician,  the  invalid  was  removed  from 
Godalming  to  lodgings  on  the  sea-side  at  Margate,  where 
he  remained  three  weeks.  At  first  some  symptoms  of 
improvement  appeared.  Writing  to  Mr.  Grant  on  Sep- 
tember 1st,  Mrs.  Hamilton  says,  ''This  morning  my  hus- 
band came  in  to  breakfast  with  us,  and  after  it  we  had 
family  worship  together !  It  is  now  more  than  two 
months  since  we  met  together  as  a  family.  Yesterday 
afternoon,  quite  unexpectedly,  Fred,  and  Sissie  came 
down,  and  Andrew  is  still  with  us,  so  we  make  a  crood 
party.  Our  hearts  overflow  with  joy  and  thankfulness  for 
the  goodness  and  mercy  our  gracious  God  has  showered 
on  us.  I  believe  you  will  know  better  than  I  can 
tell  how  we  felt, — what  I  felt,  as  I  again  heard  his  voice 
at  our  family  altar.  He  is  very  much  better  on  the 
whole." 

As  the  season  advanced,  however,  without  any  decisive 
gain,  about  the  middle  of  the  month  he  conceived  suddenly 


588  AT  MARGATE. 

a  strong  longing  for  home.  To  Mr.  Grant,  who  had  sent 
weekly  reports  from  London  during  the  whole  period  of 
his  absence,  and  otherwise  shown  a  manifold  and  inventive 
kindness,  he  addressed  the  following  note : — 


"  5  Fort  Paragon,  Margate, 
Sept.  17,  18G7.  3  p.m. 

"My  dear  Friend, — Cold  blustery  weather  has  so 
thrown  back  the  cure,  and  so  aggravated  the  home- sick- 
ness, that  we  are  coming  to  town  on  Friday  or  Saturday, 
with  the  doctor's  full  permission.  One  advantage  will  be 
the  nearness  to  the  best  skill ;  anotlier  will  be  the  com- 
forts of  our  own  abode,  and,  perhaps  the  most  influential 
of  all,  nearness  to  our  dearest  friends.  I  find  that 
affection  does  not  lessen  by  lapse  of  years,  and  it  is  with 
deepening  gratitude  that  I  read  what  the  dear  Eedeemer 
says  about  the  many  mansions  and  the  society  in  the 
Father's  house.  For  your  most  interesting,  and  some- 
times entertaining — often  tenderly  sympathetic — letters, 
I  can  return  no  equivalent.  I  must  leave  that  to  my 
better-half.  The  receiving  of  your  and  ]\Irs.  Grant's 
letters  has  done  much  to  sweeten  the  long  solitude,  and 
I  cannot  tell  how  grateful  I  am,  especially  on  her  behalf. 
It  is  hard  to  say  which  of  us  is  the  most  to  be  envied  ; 
hasn't  the  Lord  been  very  kind  to  all  of  us  ?  Let  us 
magnify  His  holy  name  together.  Let  us  trust  Him,  and 
thank  Him,  and  try  to  get  others  to  come  under  the 
shadow  of  His  wings.  I  felt  it  a  very  great  kindness 
your  going  to  Helensburgh  to  see  James.  Give  my  kind 
love  to  Mrs.  Grant.     The  Parisian  dressincr-case   stands 


CHAEACTER  UNCHANGED.  589 

on  the  mantelpiece,  in  curious  contrast  to  present  circum- 
stances, but  a  precious  keepsake  from  dear  friends,  and  a 
souvenir  of  the  last  happy  holiday.  Wishing  for  one  and 
all  of  the  Quaternion  growth  in  grace  and  love  and  all 
goodness, — I  remain,  ever  affectionately  yours, 

"James  Hamilton." 

His  son,  by  this  time  pretty  well  restored  to  health, 
had  been  placed  in  a  boarding-school  at  Helensburgh,  on 
the  Clyde. 

On  the  19th  of  September,  in  compliance  with  his  own 
earnest  desire,  he  was  removed  to  London,  and  took 
possession  once  more  of  his  own  house  in  Euston  Square. 

In  his  suffering  and  weakness  he  remained  the  same 
man  that  he  had  been  in  periods  of  health  and  activity. 
Except  in  pain  and  sickness,  the  latest  days  of  his  life  were 
in  no  way  different  from  its  earlier  days.  It  is  true  he 
was  ready  to  depart — willing  rather  to  depart  and  to  be 
with  Christ ;  but  this  was  not  a  new  and  peculiar  experi- 
ence imparted  to  him  on  his  deathbed  ;  it  was  an  ex- 
perience that  he  enjoyed  to  the  full  in  periods  of  highest 
health  and  prosperity.  When  his  cup  was  at  the  fullest, 
he  was  wont  to  entertain,  not  only  with  composure,  but 
with  delight,  the  prospect  of  departing. 

On  his  deathbed,  no  feature  of  his  character  was  in  any 
way  changed,  except  in  as  far  as  physical  debility  impeded 
its  outward  manifestation.  Through  the  weary  days  and 
nights  of  his  suffering  many  touching  expressions  fell  from 
his  lips  regarding  his  trust  in  God  and  his  love  for  men. 
But  these  appeared  as  in  the  days  of  liis  health,  naturally 


590  THE  SETTING  SUN. 

mingled  with  a  clieerful  interest  in  all  that  surrounded 
liim.  Even  the  humour  that  characterized  him  in  his 
busy  days  was  not  extinguished  by  the  languor  of  his  dis- 
ease. When,  by  the  substitution  of  a  water-bed,  he  found 
that  instead  of  being  confined  to  one  position  he  could 
turn  to  any  side,  he  expressed  his  satisfaction  at  having 
attained  "  unlimited  liability."  In  his  living  years  and  in 
his  dying  days  he  was  all  the  same  man. 

Being  in  London  towards  the  close  of  September,  I  Avas 
permitted  to  have  one  brief  interview  with  the  patient. 
There  was  less  change  in  his  appearance  and  his  look  than 
I  had  expected  to  find ;  there  was  full  activity  of  mind, 
and  calm  confidence  of  spirit,  but  great  physical  lassitude. 
I  intimated,  when  about  to  take  leave,  that  we  were  all 
praying  that  he  might  be  spared  and  restored  to  us.  Indi- 
cating by  look  and  gesture  that  he  dissented  from  my 
judgment  in  that  matter,  he  whispered,  as  I  bent  my  ear 
to  receive  his  word,  "Pray  for  an  abundant  entrance." 
This  was  the  attitude  of  his  spirit  throughout  his  illness. 
Plis  own  judgment,  after  the  first  stages,  never  varied.  He 
believed  that  his  work  was  accomplished,  and  his  outlook 
now  was  for  rest.  At  Godalming,  in  the  early  autumn, 
when  he  was  so  prostrated  that  he  could  not  interest  him- 
self in  anything,  Mrs.  Hamilton  tells  us  that  when  he  had 
made  no  sign  throughout  the  day,  he  pointed  with  marks 
of  interest  towards  the  setting  sun  at  night.  When  he 
could  not  muster  up  strength  enough  to  utter  a  sentence, 
the  great  natural  symbol  was  by  a  gesture,  commissioned 
to  express  his  expectation  and  desire. 

By  a  secret   and  sure  premonition,  he  knew  and  an- 


"  BEHOLD,  THE  BRIDEGROOM  COMETH."  591 

nounced  at  an  early  stage  that  tlie  end  was  coming. 
Thencefortli  he  waited  with  lamp  well-trimmed  by  the 
wayside,  and  the  sound  of  the  Bridegroom's  approach  fell 
on  his  quick  and  watchful  ear,  while  loving  friends  still 
hoped  to  enjoy  his  company  for  many  days.  Those  who 
lie  in  watch  for  an  approaching  procession,  and  especially 
if  they  desire  its  approach  as  the  fulfilling  of  their  own 
joy,  will  hear  the  expected  tramp  from  afar,  as  the  prac- 
tised African  warrior  discerns  mysteriously  the  distant 
footfall  of  friends  or  foes,  by  laying  his  ear  to  the  gTound  ; 
while  others  whose  senses  are  unexercised,  or  otherwise 
occupied,  detect  no  sign.  "These  are  the  Bridegroom's 
footsteps,"  persisted  the  ready  expectant  watcher  ;  and  his 
eyes  strained  eagerly  forward  into  the  darkness,  while 
friends  and  family,  beheving  what  they  wished,  endea- 
voured to  persuade  him  that  it  was  only  a  rustling  among 
the  leaves.  His  instincts  were  true  ;  they  did  not  miss 
the  mark.  According  to  his  own  glad  divining,  the  sound 
he  heard  proved  to  be  the  Lord's  coming ;  parting  willingly 
from  its  tabernacle,  the  emancipated  spirit  joined  the  pro- 
cession, and  entered  with  it  into  the  marriage.  The  door 
was  shut— shutting  the  ransomed  into  rest,  and  shuttin^r 
out  our  view  of  his  subsequent  experience.  Eye  hath  not 
seen— cannot  see,  what  the  Lord,  after  due  preparation  on 
earth,  has  done  within  the  veil  for  that  disciple  who  loved 
Jesus — whom  Jesus  loved, 

A  brief  but  clear  and  thoroughly  authentic  narrative  of 
the  closing  scene  was  drawn  up  at  the  time  by  members 
of  that  inner  circle  who  watched  most  closely  over  it. 
The  document  is  subjoined  entire. 


592  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  CLOSING  SCENES. 

"  Once  more  in  liis  own  home,  and  surrounded  by  his 
family  and  the  familiar  objects  which  his  presence  had  always 
lighted  up  as  by  a  sunbeam,  he  felt  greatly  comforted  ;  but 
no  abatement  of  his  symptoms  could  be  perceived.  Subject 
to  the  almost  hourly  alternations  of  nervous  prostration,  and 
severe  and  protracted  hepatic  disease,  he  lingered  on,  greatly 
emaciated  and  exhausted,  but  patient  and  submissive ;  his 
mind  clear  and  beautiful  as  ever  it  had  been,  while  his  hope 
and  confidence  were  without  a  cloud. 

"  During  his  long  and  trying  illness,  those  who  had  the 
privilege  of  being  much  with  him  could  not  fail  to  remark 
how  sickness  and  suffering  deepened  into  prominent  relief 
the  features  of  his  beautiful  character.  Towards  his  Divine 
Master  there  could  be  no  change  :  his  faith  and  confidence  in 
Him  did  not  for  a  moment  waver.  As  he  had  delighted  to 
render  Him  loving  service  while  in  health,  in  sickness  he  was 
content  obediently  to  suff"er ;  having  a  desire  to  depart  and 
to  be  with  Christ,  yet  leaving  without  question  the  issue  of 
his  illness  in  the  Lord's  hands.  If  it  was  His  will,  for  the 
sake  of  his  beloved  wife  and  their  little  ones,  to  whom  his 
care  seemed  so  needful,  he  would  patiently  wait ;  but  for  him- 
self he  had  no  such  wish.  '  The  sweetest  sound  I  could  hear,' 
he  said  to  a  friend,  '  would  be  the  Master's  voice  calling  me 
home.'  And  to  another, '  Do  not  ask  life  for  me,  but  pray 
for  an  abundant  entrance.' 

"  Nor  could  there  be  any  change  in  his  loving  affection  for 
the  dear  flock  the  Chief  Shepherd  had  given  him  to  feed. 
He  had  devoted  himself  to  that  blessed  work  in  the  prime 
of  his  early  manhood ;  and  when,  after  twenty-six  years  of 
earnest  service,  sickness  and  disease  Avere  sent,  they  did  not — 
for  they  could  not — separate  his  people  from  his  love.  Often 
during  the  night,  and  when  unaware  that  wakeful  ears  were 
near  him,  he  would  be  heard  asking  for  his  '  dear  people'  the 
blessings  of  God's  grace.  And  when  the  conversation  would 
revert,  at  other  times,  to  Regent  Square,  it  was  touching  to 
recognise  how  true  to  its  gracious  instinct  was  the  affection 
of  the  absent  pastor.  No  subject,  however  unimportant,  was 
a  matter  of  indifference  to  him,  while  even  to  the  last  he 
maintained  the  same  lovinfi:  interest  in  each  member  of  his 


GRATEFULNESS  AND  CHEEEFULNESS.      593 

flock  that  he  had  manifested  while  able  to  mix  freely  with 
them.  ^  '  My  preaching-days  are  over,'  he  said  to  a  friend ; 
'  but,  if  it  be  God's  will  to  prolong  my  life,  I  would  like  to 
be,  for  the  rest  of  my  days,  where  I  could  go  in  and  out 
among  my  dear  people.'  And  he  was  without  carefulness. 
'  I  am  not  anxious  about  Eegent  Square,'  he  said  to  one  of 
the  elders ;  '  God  will  surely  send  them  a  man  after  His  own 
heart.' 

^  "  To  those  who  had  the  pleasure  of  ministering  to  him  in 
his  sickness,  he  was  peculiarly  grateful.  To  Mr.  Anderson, 
Mr.  Boyd,  and  the  members  of  their  families,  Avith  whom  he 
had  spent  some  of  the  earlier  days  of  his  illness,  and  to  Mr. 
Hugh  Matheson,  to  whom  he  had  intended  to  pay  a  lengthened 
visit  in  the  autumn,  at  his  house  in  Eoss-shire,  he  was  espe- 
cially grateful ;  while  no  kindness,  however  minute,  shown  to 
himself  or  to  any  member  of  his  family,  was  overlooked,  or 
failed  to  receive  a  cordial  acknowledgment. 

"Though  suffering  from  a  disease  peculiarly  depressing,  his 
bright  cheerfulness  rarely  forsook  him.  With  a  mind  'filled 
with  the  peace  and  love  of  God,  there  could  be  no  room  for 
despondency  or  gloom.  Even  to  the  last,  he  maintained  his 
characteristic  genial  equanimity;  while  his  radiant,  lo^dng 
smile,  in  recognition  of  the  smallest  attention,  made  the  work 
of  those  Avho  waited  on  him  not  a  task,  but  a  service  of  love. 
And^  in  nothing  was  he  more  remarkable  than  for  his  delicate 
consideration  for  the  comfort  and  the  feelings  of  others. 
During  the  whole  of  his  illness,  his  anxious  care  that  his  be- 
loved wife  and  family  should  be  spared  the  painful  anticipa- 
tion of  their  impending  bereavement,  was  very  marked. 
While  to  others  he  spoke  without  reserve  of  his  conviction  of 
the  unfavourable  issue  of  his  illness,  that  apparently  from  the 
beginning  had  filled  his  mind,  and  not  unfrequently  gave 
utterance  to  his  longing  desire  to  be  at  rest,  to  his  wife  and 
family  he  either  avoided  the  subject,  or,  recognising  their 
efforts  to  cheer  him,  he  would  himself  suggest  hopeful  con- 
siderations, or  acquiesce  in  theirs.  Even  a  few  days  before 
his  death,  he  begged  that  his  illness  should  not  deprive  the 
dear  little  ones  of  the  family  of  any  opportunity  of  childish 
mirthfulness  or  recreation ;  so  anxious  was  he  to  the  last  that 

2  P 


594  DIRECTIONS  FOR  FUNERAL. 

his  home  should  be  a  happy  one,  and  his  presence  impart  to 
all  who  came  within  its  influence,  not  gloom  and  sadness,  but 
happiness  and  joy. 

"  Early  in  the  week  preceding  the  Sabbath  morning  on 
which  he  died,  he  requested  that  at  the  next  consultation  he 
might  see  the  physicians  alone.  Although — doubtless,  for 
wise  professional  reasons — the  decided  information  he  desired 
was  not  fully  afforded,  he  was  evidently  convinced  that  he 
would  not  much  longer  be  denied  the  change  he  longed  for. 
Next  morning,  to  his  dear  wife  he  spoke  out  all  his  loving 
heart,  comforting  her  with  the  assurance  that  they  would  be 
parted  only  for  a  little  time,  while  the  same  dear  Saviour  that 
he  was  so  soon  to  see  face  to  face,  would  remain  to  be  her 
gracious  Protector  and  loving  Friend.  On  being  told  that 
during  all  these  weary  months,  though  they  had  not  spoken 
to  each  other  of  the  parting,  now  apparently  so  near,  God 
had  been  gradually  preparing  her,  making  her  willing  to 
resign  him,  he  exclaimed,  '  Oh,  praise  the  Lord  !  praise  the 
Lord  !  that  He  has  made  you  wiUing.'  This  gave  him  great 
relief,  and  from  that  time  to  the  end  he  spoke  freely  and  fre- 
quently of  the  future,  always  importing  into  a  subject,  other- 
wise sorrowful  and  sad,  his  own  bright  hopefulness  and  joy. 

"  On  Wednesday,  and  again  later  in  the  week,  to  his 
brother,  Mr.  Andrew  Hamilton,  who,  from  the  time  of  his 
removal  to  Margate,  had  been  constantly  with  him,  he  gave 
directions  respecting  his  funeral,  expressing  a  wish,  that 
should  a  service  be  thought  useful  or  desirable,  a  minister  of 
some  denomination  other  than  his  own  should  take  part ;  '  I 
have  always,'  he  said,  '  loved  those  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus.' 
And  thus  in  death,  as  in  life,  he  testified  that  his  aff"ection  for 
the  followers  of  Jesus  was  broader  than  the  limits  of  his  own 
denomination. 

"  On  the  evening  of  Thursday,  he  took  leave  of  his  son-in- 
law.  About  seven  o'clock,  the  hour  of  the  weekly  prayer- 
meeting,  after  speaking  tenderly  to  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Wills, 
Mrs.  Hamilton  read  to  him  the  paraphrase — 

'  Where  high  the  heavenly  terajjle  stands  ; ' 

and  afterwards,  at  his  request,  they  sang  Mrs.  Cousins'  beauti- 


"  ALL  THINGS  ARE  NOW  READY."  595 

ful  paraphrase  of  the  dying  words  of  Samuel  Kutherford. 
When  they  reached  the  last  verse,  as  if  the  words  had  touched 
a  chord  to  which  he  must  respond,  he  joined,  in  a  voice  weak 
indeed,  and  feeble,  yet  distinct — 

'  I  stand  upon  His  merit  ; 

I  know  no  other  stand  ; 
Not  e'en  where  glory  dwelletli, 
In  Immanael's  land.' 

"  On  Friday,  he  spoke  little.  His  symptoms  were  evidently 
aggravated ;  and,  though  he  still  wore  the  same  placid, 
patient  aspect,  it  was  plain  that  he  was  much  distressed.  In 
the  evening,  and,  indeed,  throughout  the  day,  he  had  become 
so  prostrate,  that  even  the  exertion  of  speaking  for  a  few 
moments  was  almost  more  than  he  could  bear. 

"  Next  day,  Saturday,  was  to  be  his  last  on  earth.  In  tlie 
morning,  after  an  affectionate  reference  to  his  sou  James, 
then  absent  at  school  in  Scotland,  and  who  had  been  sent  for, 
he  reverted  to  the  directions  he  had  given  earlier  in  the  week, 
respecting  his  funeral.  On  his  brother  inquiring  if  he  had 
any  other  wish  that  he  desired  to  express,  he  said,  '  I  have 
not  an  earthly  desire ;  my  only  desire  is  soon  to  be  gratified.' 
Later  in  the  morning  his  brother,  the  Eev.  W.  Hamilton, 
arrived  from  Stonehouse.  He  was  able  to  receive  him  with 
aU  his  old  affection,  and  to  converse  with  him  at  intervals 
during  the  day.  Towards  the  evening  he  said  to  him,  '  There 
is  one  line  in  that  hymn  which  begins  with  "  The  hour  of  my 
departure  's  come ! "  which  exactly  describes  my  feelings  at 
this  time, — 

'  I  leave  the  world  without  a  tear, 
Save  for  the  friends  I  love  so  dear.' 

On  his  brother  reminding  him  of  his  father's  favourite  verse 
which  he  frequently  repeated  in  the  pulpit, — 

'  Jesus  !  the  vision  of  thy  face 
Hath  overpowering  charms  ; 
I  scarce  would  feel  Death's  cold  embrace, 
If  thou  wert  in  mine  arms  ! ' 

he  replied,  '  No,  I  had  forgotten  it ;  but  there  is  no  cold 
embrace,  William ;  there  is  no  cold  embrace.' 

"  About  ten  o'clock,  he  grew  rapidly  worse,  again  complain- 


596  THE  DEPARTURE. 

ing  of  oppressive  tightness  in  his  chest.  To  his  brother 
William  he  said,  '  Would  you  feel  my  pulse  and  tell  me  if  it 
has  stopped,  for  I  feel  that  I  am  sinking  very  fast ;  perhaps, 
as  it  is  getting  late,  it  might  be  well  to  send  for  Dr.  Williams, 
for  I  should  not  like  to  disturb  him  if  he  were  once  in  bed.' 

"  A  little  after  this  he  took  an  affectionate  farewell  of  his 
dear  wife,  adding,  '  The  Lord  bless  you  and  keep  you,  and  be 
ever  with  you ! '  to  which  she  replied,  '  As  He  is  with  you.' 
A  sweet  smile  of  assent  lighted  up  his  features  as  he  said, 
'  And  with  you  ! '  After  a  short  interval  he  clasped  his  hands 
upon  his  breast,  saying,  '  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly.' 

"  After  this  he  spoke  little,  save  to  recognise  gratefully  the 
little  attentions  rendered  to  him  in  his  extreme  weakness, 
and  to  express  his  anxiety  that  his  dear  wife  should  not  suffer 
through  her  loving  care  of  him.  By-and-by  the  shadows 
gathered ;  but  with  them  came  the  Master,  and  carried  away 
His  dear  servant  to  his  rest  and  his  reward. 

"He  fell  asleep  in  Jesus  on  Sabbath  morning,  Nov.  24th, 
at  a  quarter  past  three."-"- 

As  the  living  was  greatly  beloved,  the  memory  of  the 
dead  was  greatly  honoured.  All  sections  of  Protestants 
conspired  to  bear  affectionate  testimony  that  the  Church 
of  Christ  had  gained  much  by  his  life,  and  had  lost  much 
by  his  removal.  From  many  countries  and  from  all  ranlcs, 
some  earlier,  some  later,  reduplicated  expressions  of  reve- 
rential grief  came  rolling  in  like  the  varied  and  successive 
echoes  of  thunder  among  the  hills.  I  bear  witness  briefly 
of  the  fact  in  not  exaggerated  terms ;  for,  besides  the 
honour  conferred  on  the  memory  of  the  deceased  brother, 
a  glory  thence  accrues  to  the  Lord  who  combined  so  many 
gifts  in  one  life,  and  lent  that  life  a  while  to  the  world. 
It  is  due  to  the  Christian  community  to  acknowledge  and 
record  here  that  they  intelligently  appreciated  the  worth 

1  Extracted  from  "In  Memoriani,"  a  small  volume  printed  for  private  dis- 
tribution. 


FUNERAL  HYMN.  597 

of  the  "  pastor  and  teacher  "  whom  the  Head  had  bestowed 
upon  the  Church.  While  in  some  respects  our  own  day  is 
evil,  in  others  it  is  better  than  any  of  the  past ;  herein 
especially  appears  a  favourable  feature  of  the  age,  that 
such  gifts  and  graces  as  were  combined  in  the  life  of  James 
Hamilton,  are  frankly  and  affectionately  recognised  by  the 
whole  Christian  brotherhood. 

■  A  great  company  of  "  devout  men  "  assembled  to  com- 
mit the  dust  reverently  to  the  dust.  Among  other  appro- 
priate devotional  exercises,  a  simple  hymn  was  sung, 
translated  by  himself  from  the  German,  as  he  had  heard  it 
sung  at  a  peasant's  funeral  in  the  Black  Forest.     Thus— 

"  Neighbour,  accept  our  parting  song, 
The  road  is  short,  the  rest  is  long  ; 
The  Lord  brought  here,  the  Lord  takes  hence, 
This  is  no  place  of  permanence. 

The  bread,  by  turns  of  mirth  or  tears, 
Was  thine  these  chequer'd  pilgrim  years  ; 
Now,  Landlord  World,  shut-to  the  door, 
Thy  guest  is  gone  for  evermore — 

Gone  to  a  realm  of  sweet  repose. 
Our  convoy  follows  as  he  goes  ; 
Of  toil  and  moil  the  day  was  full, 
A  good  sleep  now  ! — the  night  is  cool. 

Ye  village  bells,  ring,  softly  ring, 
And  in  the  blessed  Sabbath  bring. 
Which,  from  the  weary  work-day  tryst. 
Awaits  God's  folk  through  Jesus  Christ. 

And  open  wide,  thou  Gate  of  Peace, 

And  let  this  other  journey  cease  ; 

Nor  grudge  a  narrow  couch,  dear  neighbom-s, 

For  slumbers  won  by  life-long  labours. 

Beneath  these  sods,  how  close  ye  lie, 
But  many  a  mansion  's  in  yon  sky  ; 


598  THE  MEMBERS  OF  HIS  FAMILY. 

E'en  now,  beneath  the  sapphire  throne, 
Is  his  prepared  through  God's  dear  Son. 

'  I  quickly  come  ! '  that  Saviour  cries  ; 
Yea,  quickly  come  !  this  churchyard  sighs. 
Come,  Jesus,  come  !  we  wait  for  thee  — 
Thine  now  and  ever  let  us  be." 

Funeral  sermons  were  preached  in  the  church  on  the 
following  Lord's  Day,  in  the  forenoon  by  the  Eev.  Dr. 
Candlish,  and  in  the  evening  by  the  Eev.  Henry  AUon. 

A  monument,  consisting  of  a  marble  medallion  likeness, 
with  an  appropriate  inscription,  has  been  erected  in  the 
interior  of  Eegent  Square  Church. 

Besides  his  widow.  Dr.  Hamilton's  family  consists  of — 
Anne,  born  12th  March  1849,  married,  3d  July  18G7,  to 
Frederick,  fourth  son  of  H.  0.  "Wills,  Esq.  of  Gotham,  Bristol ; 
James,  born  20th  October  1850,  now  restored  to  health, 
and  employed  in  a  house  of  business  in  London ;  Mary 
Isabella,  born  5th  August  1853  ;  Christina  Jean,  born  11th 
July  1856;  Herbert  William,  born  1st  February  1861; 
and  Ada  Frances,  born  25th  February  1864. 

Grace,  like  sunlight,  though  in  its  nature  and  source 
the  same  for  all,  becomes  of  various  hues,  bright  or  sombre, 
according  to  the  mental  medium  through  which  it  shines. 
In  some  it  is  grave,  careful,  pensive,  sad.  This  species  is 
precious  to  the  possessor,  but  not  radiant  and  hopeful  for 
the  benefit  of  a  neighbourhood.  In  Dr.  Hamilton  the 
hope  of  the  Gospel  appeared  in  a  peculiarly  bright  and 
lively  colour.  There  was  nothing  in  his  faith  to  repel  a 
child  ;  and  there  was  much  in  it  to  conciliate  the  worldly, 
and  gain  their  ear  for  his  message. 

!N"or  let  any  brother  who  indulges  in  peevish  ways, 


^-^^-^3^ 


HIS  PEEACHING,  HIS  BOOKS,  AND  HIS  LIFE.     599 

comfort  himself  with  the  thought  that  James  Hamilton's 
cheerfulness  flowed  from  a  spring  of  constitutional  hilarity. 
The  reverse  was  in  a  great  measure  the  truth.  It  was  the 
result  of  prayers  and  pains.  He  perceived  that  cheerful- 
ness and  affability  in  a  Christian  pastor  are  eminently 
fitted  to  commend  Christ  to  men ;  and  he  strove  for  these 
graces  accordingly.  Some  evidence  has  been  submitted 
to  the  reader,  and  more  has  met  the  editor's  eye,  proving 
that,  instead  of  merely  following  nature  in  this  matter,  he 
was  engaged  in  a  life-long  conflict  to  overcome  obstacles 
which  lay  in  his  constitution,  and  to  attain  the  habit  which 
became  a  second  nature,  of  being  all  things  to  all  men, 
that  he  might  gain  some. 

According  to  the  best  judgment  I  am  able  to  form, 
after  a  friendship  long  and  intimate,  I  should  be  disposed 
to  arrange  the  three  instruments  with  which  he  served 
the  Lord, — his  preaching,  his  books,  and  his  life, — in  the 
relations  of  good,  better,  best.  Owing  to  a  constitutional 
weakness  in  some  of  the  organs  on  which  the  voice  de- 
pends, his  spoken  instructions,  in  the  very  large  church 
where  he  ministered,  lost  a  portion  of  their  power ;  hence 
his  books  have  been,  perhaps,  more  higlily  valued  than  his 
preaching.  Again,  owing  to  the  pecuhar  depth  and  con- 
sistency and  uniformity  of  his  character,  his  life,  as  far  as 
it  came  into  contact  with  others,  was  fitted  to  exert  a  more 
powerful  influence  for  good  than  either  his  printed  works 
or  his  spoken  discourse. 

James  Hamilton  was  one  of  the  few  good  men  of  whom 
I  should  venture  to  say  clearly  and  advisedly,  that  I  was 
more  sharply  reproved,  more  deeply  impressed,  and  more 


600  A  FRAGRANT  MEMORY. 

powerfully  drawn  to  good  by  intimate  contact  with,  the 
man  in  private,  than  by  any  form  of  his  public  ministry. 
I  know  not  a  severer  test  of  character  than  this ;  and  I 
know  not  a  greater  triumph  of  grace  than  is  implied  in 
passing  successfully  through  it.  A  life  more  solemnizing 
and  more  winsome  under  the  microscope  than  at  a  dis- 
tance is  peculiarly  valuable. 

These  memorials  of  a  precious  life  are  now  submitted  to 
the  Christian  community  at  large,  with  the  prayer  that 
through  means  of  them  the  dead  may  yet  speak  instruction 
and  reproof  to  some  whom  his  living  voice  never  reached. 
All  is  not  lost  to  the  world  when  a  good  man  dies : 
his  character  remains  behind  to  enrich  the  community, 
as  certainly  as  the  rich  man's  wealth  remains  behind  to 
increase  the  estate  of  his  heir.  We  watch  with  expec- 
tant interest  the  swelling  of  a  rose-bud  in  the  spring  ;  we 
luxuriate  in  the  possession  of  the  full-blown  flower  while 
it  lasts,  and  we  sigh  in  sadness  when  its  glory  departs. 
But,  moved  by  a  prophetic  instinct,  we  gravely  gather  the 
shed  leaves  from  the  ground,  and  deposit  them  in  a  place  of 
safety ;  and  soon  we  make  the  glad  discovery  that  in  these 
leaves,  even  when  withered,  we  retain  for  enjoyment  the 
fragrance  of  the  rose  in  the  dull  winter  days  that  follow, 
when  we  can  no  longer  look  upon  the  living  flower,  fresh 
and  dewy  on  its  leafy  stem. 


EDINBURGH  :    T.  CONSTABLE, 
PRINTRR  TO  THE  QUEEN,  AND  TO  THE  UNIVERSITY. 


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